Since I was a child, I dreamed of becoming a human rights lawyer. But just as I was about to start my first year of law school at the University of Nairobi, my father was forced into exile, and I—bitterly, resentfully—was forced to follow. We left … [Read more...] about Achieving Justice Globally Starts Locally
Charles Stewart Mott Foundation
Fix the Form! A Campaign to Curb the Byzantine Process of Applying for a Grant
Last fall, two self-proclaimed “scrappy fundraisers” asked nonprofit grantseekers to describe the top pain points they experience while navigating the often byzantine process of applying for funding. About six months later—with responses in hand from … [Read more...] about Fix the Form! A Campaign to Curb the Byzantine Process of Applying for a Grant
Why Are So Many Major Green Funders Still Not Sharing Their Diversity Data?
Each year, a small nonprofit asks the nation’s 40 largest environmental groups and 40 largest funders for demographic data on their organizations. And each year, the response from most foundations is silence.Just 11 out of 40 foundations submitted … [Read more...] about Why Are So Many Major Green Funders Still Not Sharing Their Diversity Data?
How Funders Can Support Clean, Reliable Water for All
It’s time to redesign water systems in the United States to meet the needs of all people and communities—not just the privileged. Our present water system structure leaves many, particularly poor people, at risk of significant health and safety … [Read more...] about How Funders Can Support Clean, Reliable Water for All
“An Essential Resource.” A Foundation Tackles the Digital Divide, Starting in its Own Backyard
The pandemic has exposed deep inequities in our country—including the gaping digital divide in our education system, and its damaging impact on students across the country. The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation is attempting to narrow that divide for … [Read more...] about “An Essential Resource.” A Foundation Tackles the Digital Divide, Starting in its Own Backyard
When Eagles Hatch: Native Americans in Philanthropy and Native Youth Activism
This article was first published on March 19, 2019. The history of Native American mistreatment in the U.S. is a deep and largely unhealed wound—one that philanthropy has mostly side-stepped. Native Americans, a diverse cohort of about 5.4 million, … [Read more...] about When Eagles Hatch: Native Americans in Philanthropy and Native Youth Activism
With the K-12 System in Crisis, Top Education Funders Are Largely Absent From Relief Efforts
More than 1,000 people in Detroit have died from the coronavirus. Michigan ranks seventh in the nation for the most cases, totaling 43,950, with 4135 deaths, a fatality rate of 9%. Although black residents comprise only 14% of the state’s population, … [Read more...] about With the K-12 System in Crisis, Top Education Funders Are Largely Absent From Relief Efforts
Funding Racial Equity and Justice in the COVID-19 Era and Beyond
Black people and other people of color are disproportionately harmed by COVID-19. We recently covered some early funding responses in support of people who are black, Hispanic, Indigenous, or Asian American and Pacific Islander (AAPI). The … [Read more...] about Funding Racial Equity and Justice in the COVID-19 Era and Beyond
The People’s Philanthropy: Giving Circles Organize, With Help From a Big Funder
Modern giving circles embody the age-old practice of pooling resources to benefit others. These groups, which donate and give collectively to causes of members’ shared interest, constitute an accessible form of philanthropy that has sprouted and … [Read more...] about The People’s Philanthropy: Giving Circles Organize, With Help From a Big Funder
Making Amends: How Funders Can Address Slavery’s Legacy
The 400th anniversary of slavery in the U.S. came and went this summer, and it’s an apt time to remember how much of America and its economy were built on this brutal and fairly recent practice. In an article for the New York Times series “The 1619 … [Read more...] about Making Amends: How Funders Can Address Slavery’s Legacy
We Don’t Give Up: Mott Plays the Long Game on Clean Water in Flint and Beyond
It’s becoming harder to take clean, potable water for granted in the U.S., especially with the Trump administration’s rollback of portions of the federal Clean Water Act, a core protection for American waterways. More philanthropists are now engaging … [Read more...] about We Don’t Give Up: Mott Plays the Long Game on Clean Water in Flint and Beyond
Participatory Grantmaking for Teens: The Funders Who Trust Girls to Make Grants
It’s important to include teens and girls in feminism and feminist philanthropy, because around the world, they face challenges like child marriage, assault, exclusion from schooling, a lack of cultural freedoms and empowered media representation, … [Read more...] about Participatory Grantmaking for Teens: The Funders Who Trust Girls to Make Grants
Checking in With the East Bay Community Foundation as it Shifts Toward Civic Engagement
The East Bay Community Foundation seeks to “positively affect social change” by bringing together the assets and abilities of charitable-fund holders, nonprofit service providers, private foundations, and local government and business leaders. With a … [Read more...] about Checking in With the East Bay Community Foundation as it Shifts Toward Civic Engagement
At the Table: A Grantmaking Group’s Bid for Youth Inclusion
Diversity, equity and inclusion comprise a hot topic these days within the nonprofit world. In philanthropy, a growing part of this conversation centers on how to address persistent power imbalances between grantmakers and grantees—imbalances that … [Read more...] about At the Table: A Grantmaking Group’s Bid for Youth Inclusion
Behind the $35 Million Gift to Launch a Charter School in a Struggling City
The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation recently pledged $35 million to build and launch a charter school in Flint, Michigan. The K-8 school will eventually be located on the grounds of the Flint Cultural Center and enroll up to 650 students, who will … [Read more...] about Behind the $35 Million Gift to Launch a Charter School in a Struggling City
Behind a Push for New Solutions to the Complex Challenges Facing Rural America
Philanthropy has long been criticized for ignoring downscale white rural areas. Since the 2016 election, there's been new discussion about what funders can do to help regions that have been walloped by globalization and, more recently, a deadly … [Read more...] about Behind a Push for New Solutions to the Complex Challenges Facing Rural America
A Foundation Bets on an Eco-Industrial Park to Help Revive a Battered City
Since General Motors was founded there, Flint, Michigan’s fate has been closely intertwined with the automaker. That was true when the company’s success served as the economic engine of the city for decades, and after its withdrawal left the city … [Read more...] about A Foundation Bets on an Eco-Industrial Park to Help Revive a Battered City
Start Early: Who’s Supporting Children’s Savings Accounts?
When we spoke to her in 2015, Benita Melton of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation pointed to the power children’s savings accounts. Studies have found that saving early—at elementary school age or younger—can be a powerful incentive to embrace … [Read more...] about Start Early: Who’s Supporting Children’s Savings Accounts?
Equitable Revitalization: Who’s Helping Detroit’s Entrepreneurs of Color?
In struggling cities, there’s little hope for revitalization without ready access to financial capital. Lenders must be willing to look beyond shuttered storefronts and depopulated neighborhoods to see where the seed of economic vitality still … [Read more...] about Equitable Revitalization: Who’s Helping Detroit’s Entrepreneurs of Color?
Testing Ground: A Closer Look at a Big Push on Early Childhood in Detroit
The W.K. Kellogg and Kresge foundations recently pledged $50 million over the next three years in support of the Hope Starts Here Community Framework, a 10-year plan to make Detroit a city that values early childhood education. The foundations are … [Read more...] about Testing Ground: A Closer Look at a Big Push on Early Childhood in Detroit
A Foundation Sticks With After-School Programs as New Threats Loom
No grantmaker has done more to advance the idea of after-school programs than the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation. The Michigan-based funder has long believed that preparing children—especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds—doesn't end when … [Read more...] about A Foundation Sticks With After-School Programs as New Threats Loom
Yes, It Can Be Done: A Philanthropist on Transforming Rural Communities Through the Arts
Not long ago, I wrote about the Maine-based Libra Foundation betting big that the arts can transform a depressed small rural town in that state called Monson. I've also noted that ArtPlace America has been ramping up its commitment to rural … [Read more...] about Yes, It Can Be Done: A Philanthropist on Transforming Rural Communities Through the Arts
A Foundation Gives $1 Billion in One City and Things (Mostly) Get Worse. What’s the Lesson?
The Charles Stewart Mott Foundation recently announced that its total giving in Flint, Michigan—its home city—hit a historic milestone of $1 billion in grants, stretching back to the foundation’s creation in 1926. That’s an impressive figure and, … [Read more...] about A Foundation Gives $1 Billion in One City and Things (Mostly) Get Worse. What’s the Lesson?
“Extremes Are Becoming the Norm.” Why Water is the Next Big Issue For Philanthropy
When the children of a city with a 40 percent poverty rate were poisoned by their own public water supply, it shook a lot of Americans’ assumptions that clean, safe water will come out of our taps every time we turn them on.Flint is a unique … [Read more...] about “Extremes Are Becoming the Norm.” Why Water is the Next Big Issue For Philanthropy
In the Growing Push for Financial Inclusion, Funders See Cities As Key Players
The political scientist Benjamin Barber published an intriguing book recently, If Mayors Ruled the World, arguing that cities are increasingly at the forefront in solving problems worldwide at a time that national governments have become more … [Read more...] about In the Growing Push for Financial Inclusion, Funders See Cities As Key Players
This Funder Has the Sierra Club’s Back as It Takes on the World Bank
Founded in 1944 to help rebuild post-World War II Europe, the World Bank helps low and middle income countries with development assistance. It touts its lending efforts as “pro-poor growth.” The bank acknowledges that climate change is real. “The … [Read more...] about This Funder Has the Sierra Club’s Back as It Takes on the World Bank
Can Cities Help Kids Build College Savings and Hope? The Mott Foundation Thinks So
Last year, the Federal Reserve Board of San Francisco released a report that tried to determine if getting a college degree was still worth it. The answer was a resounding "yes." The bank determined that over the course of a worker’s lifetime, there … [Read more...] about Can Cities Help Kids Build College Savings and Hope? The Mott Foundation Thinks So
