Nonprofits Hiring Gained Slightly in November

Plus, the University of Wisconsin at Eau Claire received $60 million for a new event center. Also, to reach donors of color, fundraisers should focus on faith, family, and community (opinion) ADVERTISEMENT [Academe Today Logo]( Did someone forward you this newsletter? [Sign up free]( to receive your own copy. NONPROFIT EMPLOYMENT [Nonprofit Hiring Slowed in November]( By Michael Theis Nonprofits added 5,274 jobs in November, a small gain in a month when overall hiring also underwhelmed analysts, according to new estimates from Johns Hopkins Center for Civil Society Studies. ADVERTISEMENT GIFTS ROUNDUP [U. of Wisconsin at Eau Claire Receives $60 Million for New Event Center]( By Maria Di Mento [STORY IMAGE]( Plus, four other universities received big gifts. OPINION [To Reach Donors of Color, Fundraisers Should Focus on Faith, Family, and Community]( By Aracely Muñoz [STORY IMAGE]( Attracting Latino and Black donors requires recognizing cultural giving patterns that differentiate them from most white donors. Nonprofits that take a thoughtful approach to this process have the chance to significantly expand their pool of donors. FUNDRAISING [Many Global Charities Refrain From ‘Poverty Porn’ Imagery to Raise Money, but Stereotypes Still Distort Their Pictures]( By Abhishek Bhati [STORY IMAGE]( Charities often use photos that distort the everyday realities of the people in low-income countries they seek to help despite decades of pressure to stop doing that. Webinars [Create a Fundraising Plan for Growth and Recovery]( [STORY IMAGE]( Research shows that most American households are on stronger financial footing than at any other point since the pandemic hit, but the Omicron variant of Covid-19 demonstrates that uncertainty still lies ahead. So how can you craft a smart fundraising strategy for 2022 with so much still in flux? Join us on Thursday, January 20 at 2 p.m. Eastern to get advice from our expert guests as they explain what to include in your 2022 fundraising plan, how to make it adaptable, and how to set priorities. [Register now.]( SPONSOR CONTENT | Center for creative leadership [It's Time to Break Up with Burnout. Here's How.]( Nonprofit News From Elsewhere After announcing a new round of gifts without specifying recipients or amounts, Amazon billionaire MacKenzie Scott has reversed course and promised to release more information in the coming year. Scott had written in a blog post that she wanted to shift the focus away from “dollar signs” and to the groups she supported, which she said were free to disclose her gifts if they wished. Though well-intended, that approach provoked a wave of criticism that billionaire philanthropy, which gives a relatively small circle of people disproportionate influence and mostly enjoys tax exemptions, should be transparent. In response, Scott said she will release the information over the next year and create a searchable database of her grants. Her publicly announced donations exceed $8.5 billion so far. ([MarketWatch]( Plus: Read a Chronicle article about [MacKenzie Scott’s gift]( the reactions, and her response. Through its AmazonSmile program, Amazon raised tens of thousands of dollars last year for groups discouraging the use of the coronavirus vaccine. Among the 12 anti-vax groups to receive part of the $42,000 that the online retail giant’s customers donated to the cause were the National Vaccine Information Center ($12,675), the Informed Consent Action Network ($2,970.41), Physicians for Informed Consent ($3,626), and Children’s Health Defense ($10,969). The sums are small compared with the organizations’ budgets and the total $60.5 million that AmazonSmile gave to nonprofits, but an expert on vaccine misinformation said those groups “are able to do a lot of damage with very little money.” The leader of the Informed Consent Action Network has called the vaccines dangerous, and the National Vaccine Information Center “laid out plans to sow distrust in coronavirus vaccines a year ago.” Amazon says it bans groups from AmazonSmile that conduct deceptive or misleading activities, but a spokeswoman declined to say whether these groups fit that description. ([Washington Post]( Refugee resettlement nonprofits in the Washington, D.C., area, which were pared back during the Trump administration, face a crushing load of people from Afghanistan in urgent need of housing and other help. Since August, more than 3,700 Afghans evacuees have come to the area. Meanwhile, military bases around the country are gradually shutting down transitional housing for refugees and sending the 34,000 Afghans who live there elsewhere for resettlement. The CEO of Lutheran Social Services of the National Capital Area said its staff has gone from serving 500 people a year to 500 a month. She said the organization has hired 35 new workers since July, and the Biden administration has asked it to increase its target of aiding 1,775 evacuees this fiscal year to at least 2,400. Federal officials have tried to stem the flow to overburdened areas, such as Northern Virginia, which already has a sizable Afghan population, by assigning resettlement agencies only to cases in which refugees have relatives who can house them. In Oklahoma, refugees are offered free housing, but many new arrivals are reluctant to move to areas where they know no one and don’t understand the culture. ([Washington Post]( More News and Opinion - How Elon Musk Can Save Big on Taxes by Giving Away a Ton of His Tesla Stock ([Conversation]( - Should Charities Spend Your Money Now — or Save It to Help People Later? ([Vox]( - U. of South Carolina’s Top Fundraising Official Resigns After 2 High-Profile Donors Were Alienated ([State]( - Opinion: The Climate Crisis Is Raging, but We Are Not Powerless ([New York Times]( - Hundreds of Black Women in Georgia to Receive Guaranteed Income ([Atlanta Black Star]( - An Astounding List of Artists Helped Persuade the Met to Remove the Sackler Name ([New Yorker]( - Brown U.’s Cancer Center Receives $25 Million Gift ([Boston Globe]( SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHRONICLE Enjoying the newsletter? [Subscribe today]( for unlimited access to nonprofit news and analysis. Editor's Picks GRANT MAKING [As Foundation Assets Grow Fast, Some Grant Makers Are Giving Much More]( By Alex Daniels [STORY IMAGE]( Investments made by foundations with assets greater than $500 million saw a return of 13.1 percent this year through November, prompting debates in many boardrooms about the wisdom of sending more money out the door now. DISPATCHES [2022 Is the Year for Grant Makers to Stop Talking and Start Doing]( By Lisa Pilar Cowan [STORY IMAGE]( Because philanthropy has so little external scrutiny, foundation officials must assess whether they are actually making enough of a difference, writes Lisa Pilar Cowan, the author of a series of essays on grant making in a time of upheaval. CRYPTO PHILANTHROPY [Crypto-Based Digital Art Frenzy Draws in Charities]( By Michael Theis [STORY IMAGE]( As collectors try to cash in on nonfungible tokens, or NFTs, nonprofits and donors are auctioning them off, some with huge success, others much less so. FUNDRAISING LEADERSHIP [How to Launch a Campaign When Everyone’s Launching a Campaign]( By Andy Brommel [STORY IMAGE]( Time the announcement right, consider new approaches to volunteer leadership, and more. OPINION [More Civil-Rights Lawyers Are Needed to Fight Racial-Justice Battles. Philanthropy Can Help.]( By Sherrilyn Ifill , Anthony Romero, and Darren Walker [STORY IMAGE]( As the racial reckoning of 2020 plays out in courtrooms and state legislatures, grant makers should embrace a range of strategies, including funding law-school scholarship programs and public-interest centers, to help build a well-trained army of civil-rights attorneys. SPONSOR CONTENT | Microsoft [In the Cloud, Small Nonprofits Find the Sky's the Limit]( Learn how nonprofits are utilizing cloud technology to enhance productivity and collaboration, enabling seamless connections. ADVERTISEMENT RECOMMENDED WEBINAR [Join Our Webinar]( — Research shows that most American households are on stronger financial footing than at any other point since the pandemic hit. That’s encouraging news for nonprofits that are looking to rebuild — or even expand — in the year ahead. However, the latest wild card, the Omicron variant of Covid-19, demonstrates that we’re still facing a lot of uncertainty. So, how can you craft a smart fundraising strategy for 2022 with so much still in flux? Join us on Thursday, January 20, at 2 p.m. Eastern for a 75-minute webinar to get insights and advice from our expert guests as they outline key things to include in a fundraising plan for 2022, explain how to set priorities, and share ways to build in flexibility, so you can adapt as needed. [Register today for the early-bird rate.]( JOB OPPORTUNITIES Apply for the top jobs in philanthropy and [search all our open positions](. 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