A Young Nonprofit Leader's Warning — and Message of Hope

After Columbia U., can philanthropy help forge peace at colleges? Plus, a "third way" of giving. [Philanthropy Today Logo]( This is a special weekly edition of Philanthropy Today featuring stories and content from [The Commons](. You can also [read this newsletter on the web](. If you no longer want to receive the Philanthropy Today newsletter, [unsubscribe](. [This Week in The Commons]( - Lessons from this week’s clashes at Columbia University - An innovative giving approach aims to maximize good while indulging donor choice - Debating pluralism in philanthropy — a refresher Can Philanthropy Answer What’s Happening at Columbia? Manu Meel, not four years removed from college at the University of California at Berkeley, leads BridgeUSA, a national organization building a student movement for pluralism in high schools and higher education. A rising star in the nonprofit world, Meel warns that this week’s volatile clashes at Columbia University are a taste of what’s to come in the fall; in the month between October 7 and Election Day, the Israel-Hamas War will cross into its second year, and the presidential campaign will reach what many expect will be a combustible conclusion. Philanthropy, he argues, has a window of opportunity to act proactively to help create a culture in which hate and extremism don’t thrive. - Read Meel’s essay: [“Columbia U.'s Firestorm Is Just the Beginning”]( A Promising Third Way? Urban Institute scholar Ben Soskis, a veteran philanthropy observer, has found a growing tension between two forces in giving. One he dubs “cause pluralism,” the notion that it’s an inherent good that donors indulge their passions and support a range of causes. The opposing view, which Soskis describes as “charitable prescription,” contends that certain causes are more worthy than others — an argument championed by advocates of racial equity and effective altruism. Soskis finds hope in a third way — “yes, and” philanthropy — as espoused by Gates Foundation CEO Mark Suzman. - Read Soskis’s essay: [“How ‘Yes, and’ Philanthropy Could Unite the Charitable World’s Opposing Forces”]( Debating Pluralism A year ago, the Chronicle [published an essay]( by six leading philanthropic figures calling on the field to embrace pluralism and engage opposing viewpoints constructively. “Not all social and political agendas are morally equivalent,” they wrote. “But every agenda includes a range of considerations that would benefit from the interplay among a wide range of ideas and sentiments.” That essay touched off discussion — some of it heated. Critics argued — as did [Vu Le]( author of the blog [NonprofitAF.com]( — that “to insist that all philanthropic values, missions, and activities are equally valid is at best naïve and at worst harmful.” We’ve posted the original essay and responses at [The Commons](. Also, we invite you to join a discussion of pluralism and philanthropy that the Chronicle is hosting with the Urban Institute on Monday, April 29, at 2 p.m. ET. [Registration is free](. Two of the authors of that first essay will join the conversation: Sam Gill, CEO of the Doris Duke Foundation, and Brian Hooks, CEO of Stand Together. Others include: Aisha Alexander-Young, managing director of Frontline Solutions; Stacy Palmer, chief executive of the Chronicle; Hilary Pennington, executive vice president of the Ford Foundation; Benjamin Soskis, senior research associate at the Urban Institute; Tené Traylor, vice president of the Urban Institute; and Lori Villarosa, executive director of the Philanthropic Initiative for Racial Equity. SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHRONICLE [Chronicle of Philanthropy Subscription] Enjoying the newsletter? [Subscribe today]( for unlimited access to nonprofit news and analysis. Of the Moment Noteworthy news and items: - Read: [Notus,]( a new Washington publication from the nonprofit, nonpartisan Allbritton Journalism Institute, looks at why generally progressive donors like George Soros, the Hewlett Foundation, and the Omiydar Network are backing nonprofits aligned with conservatives — evidence, it says, of a growing left-right alliance on populist issues. - Read: Jacob Harold, former GuideStar CEO and co-founder of Candid, dissects America’s declining trust in institutions [in an essay]( for the Urban Institute. Ultimately, he says, organization leaders “will have to decide when mistrust is a call to defend institutions — and when it is a call to reimagine them.” - Listen: Democracy Works, a podcast by the McCourtney Institute for Democracy at Penn State, [talks with David Hogg]( the former leader of the gun-safety group March for Our Lives and now co-founder of Leaders We Deserve, which supports young candidates for elected office. Online Forum [April 29 at 2 p.m. ET | Register Now]( [STORY IMAGE]( Join the Urban Institute’s Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy and the Chronicle for The Place of Pluralism in Charitable Giving. We’ll gather the following leading figures in charitable giving and philanthropy to ask what role pluralism does and should play in the sector, a key theme of [The Commons]( the Chronicle’s new section focused on how nonprofits and foundations can best heal the nation’s divides: Aisha Alexander-Young, Sam Gill, Brian Hooks, Stacy Palmer, Hilary Pennington, Benjamin Soskis, Tené Traylor, Lori Villarosa. [Chronicle of Philanthropy Logo]( This newsletter was sent to {EMAIL}. [Read this newsletter on the web](. [Manage]( your newsletter preferences, [stop receiving]( this email, or [view]( our privacy policy. © 2024 [The Chronicle of Philanthropy]( 1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037