January 2024
Articles and News
The Next Test of the Supreme Court’s Affirmative Action Decision: Race-Based Foundation Grants
“Grant making that singles out race as a factor invites lawsuits, says Jonathan Berry, a lawyer who led the Department of Labor’s regulatory office under former President Trump. “I would expect more lawsuits like these to crop up in the next few years, and if there is enough of them and thorny-enough issues get implicated, I would expect the Supreme Court to step in,” he says.” (Chronicle of Philanthropy) See also: It’s Open Season on Civil Rights. Philanthropy Must Not Retreat.
D.C. is Cutting Badly Needed Funding for Housing and Homelessness Nonprofits
The Bowser administration is citing the same budget constraints that fueled the recent political fight over food stamps. (Washington City Paper)
Requiem for the lapsed: what to do to reactivate donors at the beginning of the year
While I’m not sure that sending a tax acknowledgement that reads “Our records show that your 2023 contributions total $0.00” to lapsed donors is the greatest tactic, this article has some useful tips for prioritizing those LYBUNT and SYBUNT donors. (Philanthropy Daily)
This is techinically from 2022 but still relevant today and ties in to the link below from the Schott Foundation. “Endowments are often lacking for social change nonprofits—even more so for Black-led organizations. By closing this gap, we could radically transform how we confront society’s most pressing issues.” (Stanford Social Innovation Review)
How Donor Advised Funds are Disrupting Philanthropy
Great article on the ways DAFs can be beneficial - if used the right way. “Sponsors and donors are deploying DAFs in a host of philanthropic configurations. The funds are turning up in grant-maker collaboratives, impact investing, and planned giving. Several DAF sponsors — new ventures as well as old-guard enterprises like Morgan Stanley’s charitable arm — are encouraging corporate America to add DAFs to benefits packages. The funds, the pitch goes, are the charitable equivalent of individual retirement accounts, and companies can avoid awkward matching contributions to a politically charged nonprofit and instead give to the employee’s DAF.” (Chronicle of Philanthropy)
Kendeda Fund reaches end of its philanthropic journey
An ode to Diana Blank’s approach to trust based philanthropy. (Saporta Report)
Studies and Resources
Independent Sector’s 2023 Health of the U.S. Nonprofit Sector
The annual report was released in November and holds valuable data about our industry and its economic impact. (Independent Sector)
For Funders
Schott Foundation for Public Education’s Endow Now Campaign
The Endow Now campaign’s mission is to raise capital for endowments to ensure the sustainability of three BIPOC-led national education justice alliances. “It is our time to move beyond our philanthropic mode of providing just enough resources to make the back of the bus comfortable to sustainably fund those best able to bring racial justice and democracy forward.” See the SSIR essay “Endow Black-led Nonprofits” for more!
What We Learn When We Listen: Student Feedback and Foundation Strategy
CEP’s YouthTruth Initiative’s new report, Making Sense of Learning Math: Insights from the Student Experience, is the culmination of a 15-month project, the Math Learning and Identity Project, funded by the Gates Foundation. '“The insights from nearly 90,000 high school students shared in this report… bring much-needed first-person perspectives to bear in considering how public education — and those that fund in this area and related areas — must grapple with mathematics teaching and learning in a changing economy and society.” (Center for Effective Philanthropy)
