Philanthropy Can’t Replace Our Broken Government, but It Can Help Rebuild It (Opinion)

Plus, the Dana Foundation will install a new president in March, and nonprofit influences on Trump deserve condemnation (letter to the editor) ADVERTISEMENT [Advertisement]( [logo] [Read this newsletter on the web](. OPINION [Philanthropy Can’t Replace Our Broken Government — but It Can Help Rebuild It]( By Loren McArthur The Trump administration’s failures during the pandemic have revealed government’s essential role in protecting the public welfare. Philanthropists should work to restore that role, rather than simply stepping in to try to fill the breach. ADVERTISEMENT [Advertisement]( STATEMENTS FROM LEADERS [Updated: ‘Our Children Are Watching': Nonprofit and Foundation Leaders Respond to Capitol Hill Violence]( [image] Highlights of statements by prominent nonprofit leaders in the wake of the attack on the Capitol on Wednesday, now including leaders of the Ford and Annie E. Casey foundations, among others. LETTER TO THE EDITOR [Nonprofit Influences on Trump Deserve Condemnation]( The insurrection at the U.S. Capitol this week is a reminder that we can’t allow charitable organizations to become “moral launderers” for anti-democratic policies, writes the head of a nonprofit loan fund. TRANSITIONS [Dana Foundation Will Install New President in March]( By M.J. Prest [image] Also, the Doe Fund has named the founder’s wife as its next CEO, and NPR has hired a new chief development officer. Paid for and Created by Independent Sector [A new take on KPIs and goal setting]( Redefining success can help organizations demonstrate value and serve as goodwill ambassadors for their mission. Now is the time to look at goals in a new light, and focus on what is in your sphere of influence. Nonprofit News From Elsewhere Washington, D.C.'s attorney general is accusing the National Rifle Association's foundation of improperly funneling money to the gun-rights group. A lawsuit brought by Karl Racine says the foundation's board shirked its responsibility by granting and loaning $244 million to the NRA from 2009 to 2019 without proper care for how the money would be used. The foundation's charter says it exists for “charitable, educational and scientific purposes,” but Racine says the foundation's trustees allowed some of its funds to be intermingled with the NRA's operating funds, which can used for "partisan political purposes." The foundation also reimbursed the NRA for "salaries, benefits, and other operating expenses," according to the lawsuit. Facing other litigation, declining membership, and financial scandal, the NRA has become strapped for cash, close observers say. Lawyers for the NRA and its foundation say the money was properly spent and that the foundation was not obligated to trace the funds' use. ([Trace]( A handful of Girl Scouts are rethinking their cookie sales after learning that the palm oil in their boxed treats could come from Asian plantations where poor children work in deplorable conditions. The demand for labor in Indonesia's and Malaysia's booming palm-oil industry, along with crushing poverty and exploitative producers, has led to more than 1.5 million children harvesting the crop. Many are helping their families meet impossibly high quotas, though some migrant children are alone, undocumented, and vulnerable to abuse, police detention, and traffickers. Living in ramshackle housing, some leave school early or never attend at all. International efforts to police the industry, which is also notorious for environmental abuses, have difficulty monitoring the sprawling, remote plantations, which produce palm oil for household-name brands and for the Girl Scouts' Tagalongs and Thin Mints. In response, the organization has urged its bakers and an independent watchdog of the industry to take action. ([Associated Press]( A symbol of violent racism and nationalism in South Carolina will become a center for reconciliation, thanks to a friendship between a young, white college senior and an African-American preacher. The Rev. David Kennedy, co-owner of the building that once housed the Redneck Shop in Laurens, S.C., and Regan Freeman, who became obsessed with the region's history of racial violence, have raised "a third of a million dollars" to create a community center and "racial reconciliation museum." Among other items, the Echo Project will use artifacts from the closed shop, which featured a large swastika and was festooned with Confederate flags, and they hope eventually to produce "nationwide educational programs, as well as historical markers at lynching sites." ([Washington Post]( More News - A Biden Cabinet Secretary for Arts? Advocates Are Hopeful ([NPR]( - Australian Agency Reviewing Data on Vatican Money Transfers ([Associated Press]( - Foster Care Was Always Tough. Covid-19 Made It Tougher. ([New York Times]( - Child-Welfare Agency Cuts Ties to Professor Over Pedophile Studies ([New York Times]( - Obituary: Patricia Frist, Longtime Nashville Philanthropist ([Tennessean]( - Fl. Attorney General Sues Tampa Bay Area Veterans Nonprofit, Alleging Deceptive Practices ([Tampa Bay Business Journal]( - Following $12 Million Pollock Sale, Everson Museum Acquires Contemporary Works by Shinique Smith, Ellen Lesperance, More ([ARTnews]( - Kind Deeds Follow the Death of Rep. Raskin’s Son ([Washington Post]( Subscribe to the Chronicle The Chronicle of Philanthropy is dedicated to helping nonprofits care for their clients and staff, manage financial setbacks, and stay connected with donors. Please consider subscribing, so that we may continue to provide essential news, resources, and analysis to the nonprofit world. [Subscribe Today]( Editor's Picks ONLINE BRIEFING [3 Views on How Philanthropy Should Bolster Democracy]( By Margie Fleming Glennon [image] The Kettering Foundation and the Knight Foundation released a collection of essays on American democracy within days of the presidential election. Three of the authors joined us in conversation to discuss their essays. TIPS AND TOOLS [Fighting Racism Requires Nonprofits and Foundations to Learn How to Talk Openly About Injustice]( By Tanya Barrientos and Norris West [image] A new tool kit explains how to ditch the savior language and showcase the aspirations and common humanity of people at the center of philanthropic missions. ONLINE BRIEFING [How Grant Makers Can Foster Racial Equity]( By Lisa Schohl [image] Wes Moore, head of Robin Hood, and Edgar Villanueva, author of Decolonizing Wealth, share their thoughts on the steps grant makers, donors, and those outside the nonprofit world should take to ensure vital long-lasting change to significantly improves the lives of people of color. RESEARCH [Pledge Asking Foundations to Loosen Grant Restrictions Is Working, Report Shows]( By Michael Theis Ninety-three percent of signatories to the Council on Foundation pledge say they loosened or eliminated restrictions on current grants, compared to only 67 percent of non-signatories. Job announcement Director of Partnerships & Philanthropy - Remote at Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team. [Visit jobs.philanthropy.com]( for more details. ADVERTISEMENT [Advertisement]( Paid for and Created by M&T Bank [Navigating a Pandemic and Social Justice]( Leaders at cultural organizations are striving to implement innovative opportunities and groundbreaking work within their respective communities by reimaging how they engage with their stakeholders as well as welcoming difficult conversations. How to Craft an Annual Fundraising Plan in Uncertain Times [Join Our Webinar]( — A savvy development plan is the bedrock of the best fundraising. It helps organizations hit or surpass goals, track results, change course if needed, and focus limited resources on activities that will bear the most fruit. But how can you plan for a full year amid so much uncertainty? Join the Chronicle and our expert guests on Thursday, January 14 at 2 p.m. to learn how to set priorities, create a road map to achieve your goals, measure success, and allow for flexibility. Three expert guests — two fundraising executives and a consultant — will outline key questions to consider when creating a fundraising strategy, including how to balance short-term needs with long-term goals and prepare your trustees and executives to make decisions quickly as circumstances shift. You'll also get key steps to take to ensure a plan delivers, learn how to reassess your priorities, tactics, and metrics during uncertain times, and get sample elements of development plans to help you create a smart fundraising strategy for 2021. [Register today to get the early-bird rate.]( Job Opportunities [Senior Associate Director, Major Gifts, Kellogg School of Management]( Northwestern University [Executive Director]( AsylumConnect [Leadership Giving Officer]( Zoo New England [Director of Philanthropy & Partnerships]( Humanitarian OpenStreetMap Team [Search the Chronicle's jobs database]( to view the latest jobs in philanthropy. What did you think of today’s newsletter? 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