The philanthrosphere has been buzzing over Nan Ransohoff’s recent Substack predicting an AI-driven “third wave of American philanthropy.” Ransohoff, an executive at the fintech company Stripe, lays out a sweeping view of philanthropic history in the … [Read more...] about 4 Questions We Have About the Imminent AI Giving Gold Rush
Effective Altruism
The Data Is In: “Effective” Philanthropy Has an Evidence Issue
Who’s Funding AI Regulation and Safety?
What We Got Right and Wrong in Our 2025 Predictions
Shortly, I’ll publish a forecast of the philanthropy landscape for 2026, offering my thoughts on what lies ahead. But before doing that, I think it’s only fair to assess how well IP did with our 2025 predictions. Let’s start with what we got … [Read more...] about What We Got Right and Wrong in Our 2025 Predictions
Philanthropy Awards, 2025
Effective Altruism’s Push for Smarter Giving Has Only Scratched the Surface
Sam Altman and Oliver Mulherin Signed the Giving Pledge. What Will Their Philanthropy Look Like?
The Money Is Out There. Here’s Who Can Fill Urgent Funding Needs
Philanthropy’s Most Powerful People Under 40
Tracking Green Regrantors: More Nonprofits Are Getting Into the Regranting Business
Philanthropy’s 30 Most Powerful Couples
What a Facebook Cofounder’s Latest $1.9 Billion for His Foundation Says about Philanthropy’s Future
So You Want to Make an Independent Film. Who’s Funding Now?
Summer Reading for Climate Grantmakers — and Other Funders Sweating the Heat
There’s no bad time to start reading up on climate philanthropy. But summer feels like a particularly apt season to learn a bit more about what grantmakers can do about our overheating world.Whether the U.S. heat dome has led you to crank up the AC, … [Read more...] about Summer Reading for Climate Grantmakers — and Other Funders Sweating the Heat
Post-WeWork, the Neumanns Are Still Billionaires. Whatever Happened to Their Philanthropy?
In August 2019, WeWork cofounders Adam and Rebekah Neumann made an unusual philanthropic pledge. In a 220-page filing for an initial public offering, the couple said they would donate $1 billion to charity in the decade after the company went public. … [Read more...] about Post-WeWork, the Neumanns Are Still Billionaires. Whatever Happened to Their Philanthropy?
Philanthropy Awards, 2023
Following a few years of chaotic change and disruption, it’s tempting to view 2023 as a year in which philanthropy slid back into its comfy, often frustrating norms. After all, data is emerging to suggest that there was not, and there probably won’t … [Read more...] about Philanthropy Awards, 2023
Six Reasons Why Effective Altruism Isn’t Going Anywhere
Sam Bankman-Fried might have a lengthy prison sentence in his future, but reports of the death of effective altruism, the philanthropic movement he vocally espoused, have been greatly exaggerated. For over a year now, the downfall of the crypto mogul … [Read more...] about Six Reasons Why Effective Altruism Isn’t Going Anywhere
The D.C. Power List: The Most Influential Philanthropists Shaping National Policy
Sergey Brin’s Off-the-Radar Foundation Is Huge — and Growing Fast. Here’s What We Know About It
There’s no sign on the door, but there’s a three-story midcentury modern building on San Francisco’s Cathedral Hill that is technically the home of one of the nation’s largest private foundations. Wedged between a Gold Rush-era church and a yellow … [Read more...] about Sergey Brin’s Off-the-Radar Foundation Is Huge — and Growing Fast. Here’s What We Know About It
Philanthropy Awards, 2022
High-dollar philanthropists made a lot of headlines in 2022, but not in ways they might have hoped. Between the widely reported Sam Bankman-Fried fiasco, Zuck’s Meta catastrophe, and Elon Musk’s social media train wreck, billionaires were in the … [Read more...] about Philanthropy Awards, 2022
The Philanthropic Fallout from the Collapse of FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried
The collapse of the cryptocurrency exchange FTX has shaken both the finance world and philanthropy over the past week, with its wunderkind founder Sam Bankman-Fried turning from hero to villain practically overnight. The 30-year-old’s company, once … [Read more...] about The Philanthropic Fallout from the Collapse of FTX and Sam Bankman-Fried
Three Things to Know About a Big Gift From Airbnb Billionaire Brian Chesky
For a few years now, we’ve been tracking the emerging philanthropy of Airbnb’s billionaire cofounders, who’ve only grown richer in the last few years. Brian Chesky, Joseph Gebbia and Nathan Blecharczyk launched the peer-to-peer room and home rental … [Read more...] about Three Things to Know About a Big Gift From Airbnb Billionaire Brian Chesky
Parkinson’s Funders Take a Venture Philanthropy Approach to Speed Development of Treatments
Medical research — particularly the development and testing of new drugs — is a painfully slow process that in the best cases is still usually measured in decades. Philanthropic funders that focus on disease typically say their mission is essentially … [Read more...] about Parkinson’s Funders Take a Venture Philanthropy Approach to Speed Development of Treatments
Ultra-Wealthy Donors to Watch: Who’s Taken the Giving Pledge So Far in 2022?
It’s hard to know what to make of the Giving Pledge these days. Much of the veneer has worn off, especially as it becomes clear that the voluntary commitment does little to actually spur a significant increase in billionaire largesse. Besides, though … [Read more...] about Ultra-Wealthy Donors to Watch: Who’s Taken the Giving Pledge So Far in 2022?
Why Open Philanthropy’s Backing This Evidence-Based Solution for Safe Water
Three in 10 people in the world lack access to safe drinking water, but children are particularly vulnerable to the consequences. Nearly 1,000 children die each day from preventable water and sanitation-related diseases like diarrhea — a condition … [Read more...] about Why Open Philanthropy’s Backing This Evidence-Based Solution for Safe Water
What Can We Expect From Sheryl Sandberg’s Philanthropic Pivot?
Last week, Meta Chief Operating Officer Sheryl Sandberg announced she would be leaving the company to focus “more on my foundation and philanthropic work, which is more important to me than ever given how critical this moment is for women.” The news … [Read more...] about What Can We Expect From Sheryl Sandberg’s Philanthropic Pivot?
Seven Things to Know from a Conversation with John and Timi Sobrato
John Michael and Timi Sobrato are passionate about animals, democracy, climate change and evaluating how to fund those areas through the lens of effective altruism. They also have both the intention and the means to do more than most. They’re heirs … [Read more...] about Seven Things to Know from a Conversation with John and Timi Sobrato
What We Learned From a Deep Dive Into Tech Industry Giving
Ask the average American to name the president of the Lilly Endowment or five Wall Street mega-donors, and they’ll probably pause for a few moments, shrug, and then try to change the subject.It’s hard to blame them. Figures like Lilly’s Jennett Hill … [Read more...] about What We Learned From a Deep Dive Into Tech Industry Giving
With More Donors on Board, Open Philanthropy Is Spinning Its Criminal Justice Work into a New Fund
In the six years since Open Philanthropy’s criminal justice reform program began, it has become one of the most influential funders in this area of philanthropy, overseeing a wide-ranging grantmaking portfolio and supporting organizations working to … [Read more...] about With More Donors on Board, Open Philanthropy Is Spinning Its Criminal Justice Work into a New Fund
To Get New Treatments Across the Finish Line, a Funder Fighting Blindness Turns to Investing
Since its establishment in 1971 by a group of families affected by retinal disease, the Foundation Fighting Blindness has funded research into several of the most serious and common of these conditions, like macular degeneration and retinitis … [Read more...] about To Get New Treatments Across the Finish Line, a Funder Fighting Blindness Turns to Investing
