Philanthropy’s Response to Flint’s Water Troubles Offers Lessons for Dealing With Government Failures

Plus, young workers want work-life balance, professional growth, equitable workplaces, and more. In a hiring crisis, nonprofits would be smart to pay attention. ADVERTISEMENT [Philanthropy Today Logo]( Did someone forward you this newsletter? [Sign up free]( to receive your own copy. ENVIRONMENTAL JUSTICE [Philanthropy’s Response to Flint Offers Lessons for Dealing With Water Crises — and Government Failures]( By Eden Stiffman [STORY IMAGE]( Lessons from the city’s lead and water crisis are especially important now as other cities like Jackson and Baltimore struggle with drinking-water issues resulting from failing infrastructure and decades of disinvestment. ADVERTISEMENT THE CHANGING NONPROFIT WORKPLACE [What Young Nonprofit Workers Want]( By Jim Rendon [STORY IMAGE]( Good pay, work-life balance, professional growth, and equitable workplaces are priorities. In a hiring crisis, nonprofits would be smart to pay attention. Webinars [Today: How to Navigate Corporate Giving in 2022]( [STORY IMAGE]( Many companies boosted giving and adjusted their grant-making practices and priorities in response to the health and racial-justice crises. Join us on demand, or live today, September 29, to learn which changes continued in 2022, how to best appeal to corporate grant makers now, and tips for cultivating potential new partners. [Sign up now]( and join us this afternoon. SPONSOR CONTENT | Alliance for Early Success [Philanthropy Is Increasingly Betting on Policy Advocacy in the Early Childhood Years]( Nonprofit News From Elsewhere Online A donor’s decision recently to take back a $5 million gift to support Israel studies at the University of Washington is emblematic of a struggle over the discipline in campuses across the country. Becky Benaroya pulled her endowment months after the chair of the university’s Israel studies program signed a letter criticizing Israel for an attack on Gaza. In the past few decades, Israel studies programs have launched, partly as a response to the proliferation of Middle East studies courses after World War II. In a debate that involves advocacy groups, philanthropists, academics, and university administrators, contentious questions are being hashed out, including what the programs should teach and how they should treat Zionism and the plight of the Palestinians. The stakes are high because in the absence of government funding, these programs rely heavily on the support of wealthy patrons. ([Jewish Currents]( Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott has filed for divorce from her husband, Dan Jewett, and will be doing her giving solo, at least for now. Scott and Jewett, a teacher, married last year, and he joined her in pledging to give away the tens of billions of dollars she had made from Amazon stock. Neither has commented on Scott’s divorce filing this week in Washington State’s King County, but Jewett’s name has been erased from a blog post she wrote last year about her giving, and his letter no longer appears alongside hers on the Giving Pledge website. Some of her most recent gifts did not mention Jewett, in a departure from the couple’s previous practice. ([New York Times]( More News - When Refugees From Russia’s Invasion Needed a Fresh Start, Nonprofit Agencies Stepped In to Assist. ([New York Times]( - Celebrity Chefs Flocked to This Food Nonprofit. But Employees Allege It Was Plagued by Inappropriate Behavior and Mismanagement. ([Eater New York]( - Brett Favre’s Charity for Needy Kids Gave $60,000 to Another Volleyball Gym ([Daily Beast]( - North Texas NPR Affiliate in Talks to Buy Local Newspaper ([Dallas Morning News]( - Calif.’s Outgoing Chief Justice Is Named New CEO of Public Policy Think Tank ([Los Angeles Times]( Big Gifts - Dohmen Company Foundation names new CEO, pledges $75 million for food health programs ([Milwaukee Business Journal]( - Bard College Receives $50 Million Gift to Bolster Indigenous Studies ([Barron’s]( Opinion - Nonprofit Hospitals’ Vague Charity Care Criteria ([Axios]( - What Trump Gets Right About Harvard: Rich Schools Don’t Pay Taxes. What Has America Gotten in Return? ([Politico]( - Politics Ain’t Beanbag. It Isn’t Philanthropy, Either. ([Washington Post]( - ‘The Orlando Museum of Art Is Still Bogged Down in a Crisis of Integrity’ ([Orlando Weekly]( Arts and Culture - David Geffen Hall, the New York Philharmonic’s Lincoln Center Home, Is Reopening After a $550 Million Renovation ([New York Times]( - A Pioneering Orchestra Boss Had ‘Unfinished Business,’ So She Returned ([New York Times]( - Ore. Shakespeare Festival Focuses on Expansion — but Is Not Without Its Critics ([NPR]( SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHRONICLE Enjoying the newsletter? [Subscribe today]( for unlimited access to nonprofit news and analysis. EDITOR'S PICKS RESEARCH [Fundraisers Earned More in 2021 and Anticipate Higher Wages to Come]( By Emily Haynes [STORY IMAGE]( More than three-fourths of fundraisers said they planned to stay at their current organization, according to a survey, and among those staying, three-fourths said they expected to earn more in 2022 than last year. OPINION [If Foundations Want to Encourage Transparency, They Should Look in the Mirror]( By Clara Miller [STORY IMAGE]( Grant makers are big proponents of transparency for everyone but themselves. To live up to their professed standards, they should embrace the same practices required of public companies and make available information about their entire operations, including how they invest endowment dollars. OPINION [Nuclear Weapons Are an Ever-Present Danger — and Grant Makers Need to Pay Attention]( By Istra Fuhrmann and Alexandra Toma [STORY IMAGE]( Preventing nuclear war remains one of the most underfunded areas of philanthropy at a time when the war in Ukraine has raised risk levels. With the biggest grant maker in the field preparing to pull its funding, new donors are urgently needed to step in and fill the gap. FUNDRAISING [Ask the Right Questions on Surveys to Better Target Fundraising]( By Rasheeda Childress [STORY IMAGE]( Asking donors what part of an organization’s mission excites them the most can help fundraisers tailor future interactions to their interests. But experts caution that if a group can’t follow through on the responses, don’t ask the questions. EMPLOYEE BENEFITS [Dallas Habitat for Humanity Helps Staff With Down Payments for Homes]( By Jim Rendon [STORY IMAGE]( The organization is using part of gift from MacKenzie Scott to offer employees $13,500 in the form of a forgivable loan. It hopes the benefit will SPONSOR CONTENT | Cox Enterprises [Narrowing in for a Broader Impact]( Cox Enterprises recently launched a social impact goal aimed at removing obstacles and expanding access to programs to help 34 million people live more prosperous lives by 2034. Here's why they focused on these six areas for the biggest impact. ADVERTISEMENT RECOMMENDED WEBINAR [Join Our Webinar]( — Many companies boosted giving and adjusted their grant-making practices and priorities in response to the health and racial-justice crises. With the economy in flux, it's difficult to know if this generosity will continue. Join us on demand or live Thursday September 29, to learn from a corporate-foundation executive and a nonprofit CEO who has attracted significant corporate support. They'll explain how to connect with corporate grant makers now. The early-bird rate ends September 22. Save your spot. [Sign up today.]( JOB OPPORTUNITIES [Philanthropy Director]( Northwest Youth Corps [Vice President of Development (Flexible Location - New Hampshire)]( New Hampshire Public Radio [Search other jobs.]( NEWSLETTER FEEDBACK [Please let us know what you thought of today's newsletter in this three-question survey](. [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. © 2022 [The Chronicle of Philanthropy]( 1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037