New and innovative ideas for leaders of foundations (more)
Foundations should step up in a time of unparalleled crisis—and strong market returns have made it easier for them to do so. This essay is a response to the keystone article in the Up for Debate series on foundations' payouts during big crises. Visit the series page for more reaction pieces like this one.
Spending more today will mean having less for the future, but the current crisis is unprecedented and the financial trade-off is very modest.
There is no one right answer to the question whether to pay out more during a financial crisis, which depends on balancing the needs of present and future beneficiaries and so varies depending on a funders’ goals and objectives. This is the keystone article for the Up for Debate series on foundations' payouts during big crises. Visit the series page for responses to this essay.
The onset of COVID-19 has amplified discussions about philanthropic spending during an economic downturn, with some observers saying that a big crisis like the pandemic should compel funders to not just maintain their outlays, but to disburse more. Should they?
Have outcomes-based contracts allowed more flexibility and adaptability in responding to the COVID-19? Lessons learned on building more resilient strategies to tackle social problems.
Highlights of this year’s book reviews and excerpts on topics including nonprofit management, the future of capitalism, technology trends in social movements, and the rich history of Black philanthropy.
Foundations and impact investors need to face the ways they are complicit in perpetuating inequality through their capital allocations, and upend five structural investment barriers to better serve women and people of color.
Not only do Black-led nonprofits need lasting and long-term support, but philanthropy needs to wrestle with its past failures to invest in the very communities we claim to be working for.
As philanthropic boards debate digging deep to address pandemic-related crises, a study of articles of incorporation of the top 50 foundations surfaces pathways to big bets regardless of founding intent or degree of post-recession recovery.
To realize the deep systemic change that America is demanding, philanthropy must reorganize to build and demonstrate a trust-based culture, invest in community leadership capacity-building, and open up decision-making and information-sharing structures.
