How to Navigate Corporate Giving in 2021

Plus, a South Dakota businessman is giving $90 million to three human-service groups, and how the insurrection at the Capitol changed one grant maker’s perspective (Dispatches) ADVERTISEMENT [Advertisement]( [logo] [Read this newsletter on the web](. CORPORATE PHILANTHROPY [How to Navigate Corporate Giving in 2021]( By Kyle Mitnick [image] The pandemic has transformed vast swaths of the economy, and corporate philanthropy is no exception. Covid-19 and the need for remote work have caused many companies to reassess their philanthropic priorities. The way that businesses and charities work together is evolving, too. ADVERTISEMENT [Advertisement]( GIFTS ROUNDUP [S.D. Businessman Gives $90 Million to 3 Human-Services Groups]( By Maria Di Mento [image] Plus, Jeff Bezos pledges another $25 million to help those struggling in Washington State, and a community college in Virginia lands $2.7 million. DISPATCHES [Taking Off Blinders: How the Insurrection at the Capitol Changes My Grant-Making Perspective]( By Lisa Pilar Cowan [image] I had a clever column worked out to open 2021, one that would detail my New Year’s resolutions to be a better grant maker. I had talked with the colleague who illustrates these dispatches for the Chronicle about the most amusing ways to show me as cleareyed and resolute. Paid for and Created by CCS Fundraising [CCS Survey Shows Improved Fundraising Trends and Evolved Donor Engagement Tactics]( Gain insights into fundraising outcomes, impacts, and evolving donor engagement tactics via CCS Fundraising’s newly released third-edition report, Fundraising Impact of COVID-19, highlighting results that indicate improved virtual solicitations. Nonprofit News From Elsewhere The Supreme Court will hear an appeal of a ruling that requires charities in California to hand over to the state the names of major donors. California argues that it needs the information, which is not disclosed publicly, to conduct oversight of the groups, and a federal appeals court agreed. But lawyers for two conservative groups pursuing Supreme Court review say the rule violates the First Amendment and would deter future donors. The groups involved in the litigation are the Thomas More Law Center and the Americans for Prosperity Foundation, which has links to conservative billionaire Charles Koch. ([Associated Press](. Plus: See [more about this issue](. Lawyers for men suing the Boy Scouts for sexual abuse are coming after the assets of the Scouts' local councils, which the organization has tried to shield from claims. In bankruptcy proceedings, the Scouts have argued that the councils are separate legal entities and that their billions of dollars' worth of cash, investments, and real estate cannot be used to pay compensation for the nearly 100,000 allegations of abuse. But lawyers for the men taking the Scouts to court say the councils operate at the direction of the national organization, which has assets of about $1 billion, and that their funds have been commingled with other Boy Scout funds. The councils are negotiating their role in the settlement, to which they must contribute in order to gain legal immunity from the claims. ([Wall Street Journal]( — subscription) More than 20 former employees of United Way have added their voices to the chorus of sexual misconduct and discrimination allegations against the organization. In a letter to the chairs of the United Way USA and United Way Worldwide boards, the women write anonymously that they experienced, were aware of, or witnessed "discrimination, harassment, and/or retaliation for reporting such issues." The letter comes after three women told the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission that they had faced retaliation for reporting harassment at the organization and more former employees subsequently came forward with similar complaints. United Way has hired a law firm to conduct a review of its culture, but none of the women involved who were contacted by HuffPost said they had been interviewed. ([HuffPost]( More News - How the Rockefeller Foundation's Raj Shah Is Leading the Covid Fight ([New York Times]( - Kamala Harris Dissolving PACs, Giving Money to Charity ([San Francisco Chronicle]( — subscription) - D.C. Veterans Charity Works to Clean up City After Attack on Capitol, Denounces Insurrection ([WUSA]( - Covid Billionaires Should Help Starving People, Says Charity Boss ([Guardian]( Arts and Culture - Fauci Suggests Theaters Could Reopen ‘Sometime in the Fall’ ([New York Times]( - The Obama Fellow Who Wants to Transform Rural America Through Theater ([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 OPINION [Philanthropy Can’t Replace Our Broken Government — but It Can Help Rebuild It]( By Loren McArthur [image] 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. 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 a letter to Congress from 75 grant makers and coalitions. FUNDRAISING [Fundraisers Are Stressed. Here’s How They’re Coping.]( By Emily Haynes and Eden Stiffman [image] They’re figuring out how to tame long hours, intense pressure to raise more money, and worries about health and racial injustice. OPINION [Foundations That Want to Support Local Journalism Should Take a Close Look at Alt Weeklies]( By David Wallis [image] For relatively small investments, philanthropy could help preserve some of the most important local journalism around—and fend off growing rightwing “news” sites. ADVICE [7 Facts to Persuade Leaders to Prioritize Planned Giving]( By Lisa Schohl [image] Building a healthy planned-giving program takes time, effort, and a smart strategy. A fundraising consultant explains how. Job announcement Leadership Giving Officer at Zoo New England. [Visit jobs.philanthropy.com]( for more details. ADVERTISEMENT [Advertisement]( 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. 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 [Executive Director for Marketing Management]( Nova Southeastern University [Senior Associate Director, Major Gifts, Kellogg School of Management]( Northwestern University [Executive Director]( AsylumConnect [Leadership Giving Officer]( Zoo New England [Search the Chronicle's jobs database]( to view the latest jobs in philanthropy. What did you think of today’s newsletter? [Strongly disliked]( // [It was OK]( // [Loved it](. [logo]( This newsletter was sent to {EMAIL}. [Manage]( your newsletter preferences, [stop receiving]( this email, or [view]( our privacy policy. © 2021 [The Chronicle of Philanthropy]( 1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037