How Philanthropy Can Make the Quantum Leaps Society Is Counting On (Opinion)

Plus, St. Jude has hit a donation milestone to fight childhood cancer, and Jeff Bezos is giving $100 million each to Van Jones of Dream Corps and José Andrés of World Central Kitchen ADVERTISEMENT [Advertisement]( [logo] Was this newsletter forwarded to you? [Please sign up to receive your own copy.]( You’ll support our journalism and ensure that you continue to receive our emails. [Read this newsletter on the web](. OPINION [How Philanthropy Can Make the Quantum Leaps Society Is Counting On]( By Kathleen Enright Letting people close to the problems make decisions about where money should go and building trust are essential if we want to do more than make incremental changes. ADVERTISEMENT [Advertisement]( INDIVIDUAL GIVING [St. Jude Hits Donation Milestone to Fight Childhood Cancer]( By Glenn Gamboa, Associated Press [image] At a time when some institutions are facing fundraising shortfalls as donors have shifted their priorities in response to the pandemic, the children’s hospital raised $2 billion in the 2021 fiscal year. GIFTS ROUNDUP [Jeff Bezos Gives $100 Million Each to Van Jones of Dream Corps and José Andrés of World Central Kitchen]( By M.J. Prest [image] Also, the family that founded Hobby Lobby has given $20 million to an evangelical college in Alabama, and two brothers have donated $10 million to Elon University to rename its school of education after their mother. Paid for and Created by Independent Sector [Stand With Black Americans for Environmental Justice]( Supporting sustainability and collaborating with community organizations, the Black Environmental Collective is driving public conversations surrounding environmental issues, grooming leaders to establish a racial justice education pipeline with an emphasis on Black populations. Correction Independent Sector revised the numbers on a survey covered in an article that ran in Friday’s Philanthropy Today (“Views of Nonprofits Reflect America’s Political and Income Divides”). The corrected information: Fifty-seven percent of survey participants said they trust nonprofits to “do what is right,” down just 2 percentage points from 2020. And only 30 percent of respondents said they trusted major philanthropists or foundations, down from 36 percent. Virtual Forum: How to Build a Diverse Nonprofit Staff Nonprofits focused on nearly every cause and mission have been seeking ways to ensure their work forces look more like America’s increasingly diverse population, a goal that many accelerated in the wake of last summer’s racial reckoning. Many organizations are making strides, hiring people from a wide array of racial and ethnic backgrounds, seeking greater gender and socioeconomic balance among employees, and making their workplaces more open to people with disabilities. However, a few organizations are well ahead of the pack and are creating staffs that reflect the diversity of the communities they serve. Join us for a free virtual forum Tuesday, August 3, 2021, from 3:30 to 4:30 p.m. Eastern to learn from nonprofit leaders who will share steps they took to diversify their staffs and create cultures that welcome diverse perspectives. They’ll share their experiences and offer advice on how — and why — to build diverse organizations. [Register today.]( Nonprofit News From Elsewhere Melinda French Gates is addressing the staff of the Gates Foundation this week as anxiety about the future rises. Some staff members are concerned that after the Gates’s divorce the philanthropy will fracture as each founder pursues his or her pet causes, according to three people at the foundation whose names were not disclosed. They are also dismayed by the departure of Warren Buffett, who they say provided a reality check against the Gates’s sometimes unrealistic expectations for the foundation — for example, finding a cure for malaria and polio before Bill Gates dies. And they are uneasy about reports of Bill Gates’s inappropriate behavior with female colleagues and his association with Jeffrey Epstein. Some staff members are working on their resumes, the sources said. ([Business Insider]( — subscription) A community of small arts organizations in Los Angeles have a better shot at longevity and stability thanks to recent donations from MacKenzie Scott. Self Help Graphics & Art, which provides studio, education, and exhibition space, has only recently found a permanent home, 50 years after its founding in a garage. A $1 million gift from Scott and $4 million from the state will fund building renovations and provide some breathing room. The Arts for Healing and Justice Network helps small arts groups serving incarcerated young people with programming, scheduling, and other day-to-day chores. It received a $1.5 million grant from Scott, which could go toward starting similar networks in other states or buying a gathering space. And the California Community Foundation has used a $20 million gift from Scott to start an endowment for small and midsize arts groups. ([Financial Times]( — subscription) More News - Democrats Unify Behind Climate Corps, Vague on Details ([Wall Street Journal]( — subscription_ - Belarus Shuts More Civil Society Groups in Wide Crackdown ([Associated Press]( - United Methodist Church Edges Toward Historic Split Over LGBTQ Inclusion. This Church Showed the Way. ([Religion News Service]( - S.D. Veterans’ Home Grateful but Baffled by $1 Million Gift ([Daily Beast]( About Anti- Racism Work - Citi Foundation Awards $25 Million to Support Black-Owned Small Businesses in NYC ([AMNY]( - Obituary: Bob Moses, Crusader for Civil Rights and Math Education ([New York Times]( - Philly’s Museum of Black Joy Aims to Counterprogram Traumatizing Narratives About Black Life ([Philadelphia Inquirer]( Opinion - Should a CNN Pundit With a $100 Million Charity Keep His Perch? ([Pittsburgh Post-Gazette]( - Why Refugees Can, and Should, Lead Solutions to Displacement ([Thompson Reuters Foundation]( #EquityTalk: Who to Listen to? This fall, the Chronicle will profile people remaking their organizations and the nonprofit field as a whole to advance equity. We would like to know who you are listening to — writers, activists, podcast hosts, and social-media influencers as well as leaders, fundraisers, and other frontline workers bringing about change that’s driving conversations. Please [use this form]( to provide as many as three names. Thank you! Connecting With Small Foundations: What to Know Now [Join Our Next Webinar]( Small family funds give away more than $4 billion a year to charities, but seeking grants from them isn't always easy. They can be hard to identify because they often keep a low profile, and some have shifted their practices and priorities due to the health and racial-justice crises of the past year. Which grant-seeking strategies are working now? How can your nonprofit convey impact even if weakened by the pandemic? Join us and our expert guests on Thursday, August 12, at 2 p.m. Eastern to get answers, guidance on how to address current challenges, and tips for seizing new opportunities. You’ll learn: - What many small foundations and family funds want to support now - Ways to find small grant makers, capture their attention, and deepen ties over time - How to convey impact in grant proposals even if the pandemic weakened your nonprofit's finances Sign up before August 5 to save $20 with our early-bird rate. [Register today](. Editor's Picks GIVING [$60 Million in New Grants Help Nonprofits Innovate Quickly to Close Financial Equity Gaps]( By Alex Daniels [image] Blue Meridian, a donor collaborative, is helping nonprofits experiment with rapid testing and other approaches that speed up their work as they seek to ensure that marginalized people get an even shot at the nation’s economic recovery from the pandemic. EXIT INTERVIEW [Researcher on Donors and Fundraising Reflects on What Nonprofit Supporters Want]( By Emily Haynes [image] As Penelope Burk releases her final survey of nonprofit donors, she talks about how to put the focus on supporters and what needs to change in fundraising to make it better. OPINION [Lin-Manuel Miranda’s Message to Philanthropy: Immigrant Strivers Need Support, Too]( By Leslie Lenkowsky [image] At a time when immigration policy battles are taking center stage, some of Miranda’s recent grants are going to nonprofits that help immigrants rise to the middle class — reflecting the values depicted in his new movie “In the Heights.” His approach should be an example for other donors. OPINION [Education Innovations Deserve as Much Philanthropic Investment as Support for Medical Research]( By Romy Drucker, Bob Hughes , and Sandra Liu Huang [image] A new fund aims to let people closest to the challenges facing schools work hand in hand with research and development experts to find new approaches that will help students of color and those who live in poverty. BIG GIFTS [On a Philanthropy Streak, Clara Wu Tsai Looks to Flip the Traditional Health-Research Script]( By Drew Lindsay [image] The business executive is backing research to reverse-engineer health advances by studying humans at their physical peak — especially elite athletes. Job announcement "Director of Development at Our Children's Trust. [Visit jobs.philanthropy.com]( for more details. ADVERTISEMENT [Advertisement]( Paid for and Created by Regions Bank [A Mission of Impact]( Collaborating to build solutions based on an organization’s unique environmental, social and governance (ESG) vision, Regions Bank is committed to understanding a donor’s goals related to ESG, customizing strategies to create a meaningful impact. 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. 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