How Has This Public-Private Effort to Defend L.A.’s Immigrants Shaped Up?

How Has This Public-Private Effort to Defend L.A.’s Immigrants Shaped Up?

With a mission to help nonprofits extend free legal aid to immigrants, the L.A. Justice Fund launched in 2017 with support from both philanthropy and government. Two years on, it’s built up crucial infrastructure. But the scale of need remains vast.

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To Crack the Poverty Code, a Big Bet on Data-Driven Interventions to Fuel Upward Mobility

To Crack the Poverty Code, a Big Bet on Data-Driven Interventions to Fuel Upward Mobility

Data is at the center of a project to design city-level economic mobility programs backed by Bloomberg, Gates, and Ballmer. But with ten cities selected and ready to develop their ideas, is this technocratic model likely to achieve lasting impact?

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Millennial Rising: A Prominent Family Foundation Has its First Fourth-Generation Board Chair

Millennial Rising:  A Prominent Family Foundation Has its First Fourth-Generation Board Chair

Generational change is having a growing impact on family philanthropy, with younger board members stepping up to put their own stamp on institutions. The Nathan Cummings Foundation is one place where this dynamic is playing out.

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New Study Finds Racial Bias in Fundraising Profession

New Study Finds Racial Bias in Fundraising Profession

Fundraisers of color confront racism and bias throughout their careers, according to a new study that sheds broader light on some of the troubling dynamics that surround issues of money, power and race in the nonprofit sector.

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Supporting Science Teachers and Students: A Look Inside the Amgen Foundation

Supporting Science Teachers and Students: A Look Inside the Amgen Foundation

Amgen Foundation, the philanthropic arm of the hugely profitable biotech company, is laser-focused on nurturing the next generation of scientists. We connect with its leader about the foundation’s core programs and strategies.

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Up Against Wall Street: How This Little-Known Hedge Funder Backs Financial Reform

Up Against Wall Street: How This Little-Known Hedge Funder Backs Financial Reform

Despite the devastation caused by the 2008 crash, financial sector reform isn’t a priority for most funders. Michael Masters has bucked that trend, bankrolling one of the few policy shops in D.C. able to go toe-to-toe with industry lobbyists.

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“Inclusiveness and Openness of Spirit.” A Donor Makes the Case for Free Museum Admission

“Inclusiveness and Openness of Spirit.” A Donor Makes the Case for Free Museum Admission

With more arts funders talking about "equitable access for all,” a gift out of Los Angeles points to a simple strategy: make museum admission free. Which philanthropists and institutions have swung behind this idea? And what’s been the impact?

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Consumer Rights 2.0: With a Big Cash Infusion, a Nonprofit Zeroes in on Data Privacy

Consumer Rights 2.0: With a Big Cash Infusion, a Nonprofit Zeroes in on Data Privacy

Consumer Reports, founded in 1936, has been rebooting in recent years to keep up with a rapidly changing technological landscape. Now, with a $6 million gift from Craig Newmark, it’s ramping up its digital privacy work. Here’s an inside look.

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Sparking Something Bigger: A Donor’s Big Bet on Dance Education is Starting to Pay Dividends

Sparking Something Bigger: A Donor’s Big Bet on Dance Education is Starting to Pay Dividends

With a second big gift in less than three years, Jody Gottfried Arnhold and her husband John have carved out a distinctive and impactful philanthropic brand around dance education—a niche largely devoid of big-ticket patrons.

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My Nonprofit Did So Much Right, But We Still Couldn't Raise Enough Money to Survive

As the founder of DC Central Kitchen, Robert Egger was an old hand at scaling social ventures when he arrived in Los Angeles to create L.A. Kitchen, an ambitious effort to fight hunger and poverty with a proven model. Here’s how things fell apart.

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The U.S. Faces a Severe Nursing Shortage. Who's Giving to Close the Gap?

The U.S. Faces a Severe Nursing Shortage. Who's Giving to Close the Gap?

The U.S. will need 1.5 million new nurses by 2026 to provide care for retiring baby boomers. Despite this looming public health crisis, philanthropy has been largely tuned out. Can a recent big gift out of D.C. help change the narrative?


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Gender Norms Don’t Get Enough Attention from Funders. Here’s How Philanthropy Can do Better

Gender Norms Don’t Get Enough Attention from Funders. Here’s How Philanthropy Can do Better

Decades of studies have shown that challenging harmful gender norms are a key to improving outcomes in under-served communities. Riki Wilchins explores how some foundations are stepping up here, backing gender audits and other strategies.

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Data Drive: Behind the Gates Foundation's Latest Big Investment to Reduce Child Mortality

Data Drive: Behind the Gates Foundation's Latest Big Investment to Reduce Child Mortality

More than 5 million children under age five die every year, and Gates is hungry for better data on what’s killing them—and how to save lives. It’s now given over $250 million to an NGO on the forefront of this quest. But is more data really needed?

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With a Growing Stream of Grants, This Stalwart Arts Funder Helps Offset Ominous Trends

With a Growing Stream of Grants, This Stalwart Arts Funder Helps Offset Ominous Trends

Many dance and theater groups continue to grapple with lower box office yields, a shrinking subscriber base, fickle millennials, and declines in public funding. The Schubert Foundation is one of the best friends these nonprofits have.

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Game Changer? The Promise and Perils of Bloomberg’s Big New Climate Funding Push

Game Changer? The Promise and Perils of Bloomberg’s Big New Climate Funding Push

The billionaire’s $500 million Beyond Carbon initiative is a landmark in environmental philanthropy. But will it be a new kind of climate funding effort, out to shift power and follow the lead of groups on the ground? Or another top-down, technocratic effort?

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Annual Tally Shows Reduced U.S. Giving. But How Reliable is This Data?

Annual Tally Shows Reduced U.S. Giving. But How Reliable is This Data?

Giving USA’s latest tally of charitable giving offers bad news for nonprofits. But since the 2017 tax law has reduced itemizing, hard data on donations is ever harder to come by—underscoring long simmering questions about these annual statistics.

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New Donors Are Transforming the Global Aid Industry. Is That Really a Good Thing?

New Donors Are Transforming the Global Aid Industry. Is That Really a Good Thing?

In his new book, “The Business of Changing the World,” Devex co-founder Raj Kumar shows how business-savy philanthropists are helping disrupt foreign aid with their focus on results. But what are the downsides of this sea change?

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Stability Pays: Lessons from a Huge Endowment Gift to the Philadelphia Orchestra

Stability Pays: Lessons from a Huge Endowment Gift to the Philadelphia Orchestra

Orchestras continue to grapple with dwindling revenues and labor unrest. But a $55 million gift suggests that if ensembles can ensure organizational stability and roll out strong community outreach efforts, donors will throw them a lifeline.

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On the Radar: Inside a Push to Hook up Progressive Donors and Grassroots Voter Groups

On the Radar: Inside a Push to Hook up Progressive Donors and Grassroots Voter Groups

The post-2016 “Trump bump” brought in lots of new progressive donors, and spurred others to ramp up their giving. But front-line organizations looking to get out the vote remain under-resourced. The Movement Voter Project aims to bridge that gap.

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To Bolster Access to Water and Sanitation, These Funders Are Betting on a Systems Approach

To Bolster Access to Water and Sanitation, These Funders Are Betting on a Systems Approach

Water and sanitation have long been a focus for global grantmakers, but the approach has often been piecemeal, with projects failing after donors have moved on. In an interview, two leading WASH funders discuss their quest for a better approach.

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