Eric Smidt started the discount hardware store Harbor Freight Tools at 17 with his dad in 1977. Now worth $3 billion, his emerging philanthropy is laser-focused on helping high school students prepare for good-paying jobs in the trades.
Read MoreBlack billionaire Robert F. Smith made headlines this weekend for wiping out the debt of the Morehouse College Class of 2019. But we’ve been keeping tabs on Smith’s exploding philanthropy for a while now. Here’s what to know about one of America’s newest mega-givers.
Read MoreFunder interest in data science shows no signs of abating, and it isn’t just tech funders leading the charge. Given the field’s potential to revolutionize risk management, insurance companies are also digging deep to support data science initiatives.
Read MoreThe Omidyar Network, a longtime supporter of education abroad, has turned its attention to education needs at home, where it’s taking on both early childhood learning and parents’ post-secondary success. Here’s how things are playing out so far.
Read MoreThe proliferation of "strings-attached" gifts has raised concerns over undue donor influence on campuses. In response, a trio of concerned academics are launching a new database to track “violations of academic norms in financial donations.”
After 50 years of support, philanthropists Sidney and Lois Eskenazi recently gave $20 million to their alma mater, Indiana University. The gift underscores how the regional higher ed fundraising boom benefits public universities and the liberal arts.
Read MoreOne of the most vexing issues in higher ed philanthropy right now is how community colleges struggle to raise money. What will it take for donors to give these affordable, diverse, and critically underfunded engines of economic mobility a second look?
Read MoreEven as critics charge that the STEM skills gap is exaggerated, big gifts keep flowing to schools to bolster their STEM programs. Who are the funders behind this endless gusher of cash? And what’s motivating them to make such large donations?
Read MoreOut-of-school programs play a critical role in the K-12 ecosystem, but most education funders are focused on other priorities. The New York Life Foundation is among the loyal supporters of such programs. Here’s a look at where it’s sending a $3 million grant.
Read MoreDespite funders' interest in equity across higher ed, we've seen few major grants earmarked for boosting faculty diversity in the liberal arts. Why is this? And how are some fundraisers integrating this goal within larger diversity and inclusion efforts?
Read MoreA gift out of Oregon provides another example of a donor motivated by a bold fundraising campaign, and digging deep for the liberal arts. But even as the cash rolls in, demographic shifts among alumni are pushing schools to recalibrate their pitch for liberal arts initiatives.
Read MoreWhile there’s no shortage of tech, corporate and institutional funders providing support to boost gender equity in STEM across higher ed, we see few gifts flowing from female alumnae engineers. A gift to UCLA is an exception worth looking at more closely.
Read MoreWhile the higher ed fundraising boom has lifted many boats, university employees often find themselves squeezed by flat wages and escalating housing costs. Some donors are paying attention to these larger equity issues. Will others follow?
Read MoreThe Packard Foundation has been helping give kids a strong start in life for over 50 years. But now it’s doing this work differently after adopting a new, more holistic funding approach to early childhood development that better integrates health and learning.
Read MoreWith a net worth of around $10.7 billion, a grocery store empire that dominates the Texas landscape, and a growing track record of big gifts for education, as well as other causes, Charles Butt is a Giving Pledge member and a philanthropist to know.
Read MoreRex W. Bates spent more than 25 years at State Farm Insurance Company, bookended by leadership roles at independent schools. We recently spoke with him about his Bates Family Foundation, whose grantmaking strongly prioritizes education.
Read MoreEven as the effects of climate change have become more visible and devastating, few higher ed donors prioritize this issue. Which is why a $50 million gift to Penn earmarked for research on energy is both anomalous and encouraging.
Read MoreAs rank-and-file alumni give at lower levels, and big gifts become more integral to university fundraising plans, we’re seeing an uptick in disputes between aggrieved donors and recipient schools. But these fights can play out in a very different ways.
Read MoreIt seems like every week brings news of a regional school meeting an ambitious fundraising goal months, if not years, ahead of schedule. This isn’t a coincidence. We dig into a textbook case from Houston, a city with a famously robust philanthropic culture.
Read MoreHampshire College was founded in the 1960s in an effort to reinvent higher education. Now, like other similar institutions, the school is facing a financial crisis that threatens its existence. So far, foundations have shown little interest in coming to its rescue.
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