A.I., Tech Privacy, and Personalization Are Hot Topics for Nonprofit Leaders at Conference

Plus, a foster-care veteran is getting $47.5 million to redesign the child-welfare system, and a San Diego civic group lands $20 million from a 95-year-old sailing great. ADVERTISEMENT [Philanthropy Today Logo]( Did someone forward you this newsletter? [Sign up free]( to receive your own copy. You can now follow The Chronicle on [Apple News]( [Flipboard]( and [Google News](. CONFERENCE [Nonprofits Talk A.I., Personalization, and Privacy at Technology Conference]( By Sara Herschander [STORY IMAGE]( At the first in-person gathering since 2019, nonprofits showed great interest in emerging technologies but said their top priority was more basic: getting their systems to talk to each other. ADVERTISEMENT BIG BETS [Foster-Care Veteran Gets $47.5 Million From Audacious Project to Redesign Child-Welfare System]( By Drew Lindsay [STORY IMAGE]( Sixto Cancel argues that people who have experienced the child-welfare system are the ones to make it better. Now some of America’s biggest philanthropists are betting that he’s right. GIFTS ROUNDUP [San Diego Civic Organization Lands $20 Million From 95-Year-Old Sailing Great]( By Maria Di Mento [STORY IMAGE]( Plus, Harvard received $300 million from hedge-fund manager Kenneth Griffin, Robert Smith donated $15 million for career-readiness programs for underserved high-school students, and Kathryn and Kenneth Chenault gave Bowdoin $2 million to honor a civil-rights leader. Webinars [Thursday: How to Identify and Prioritize Key Donors and Prospects]( [STORY IMAGE]( Savvy fundraisers know it’s essential to figure out which donors and potential supporters are likely to give most generously — and prioritize them. But at many nonprofit organizations, this process involves a lot of guesswork and missed opportunities. So we’ve assembled an expert in donor research, along with a successful chief development officer, to show you how to gather data to help you invest limited resources wisely. Join us live on Thursday, April 20, at 2 p.m. Eastern. [Register Now.]( [Optimize Your Data and Segment Donors]( [STORY IMAGE]( Join us on Tuesday, May 11, at 2 p.m. Eastern for a 75-minute session to learn simple steps you can take right away to enhance your donor records and customize your outreach to give supporters information and appeals that resonate. We’ll share real-world examples of personalized messages that make the most of donor data to improve fundraising results. Can’t make the live event? Watch on demand. [Register by May 4 for the early-bird rate.]( SPONSOR CONTENT | The James Irvine Foundation [Investing in an Economy of Belonging]( Nonprofit News From Elsewhere Online A new recruitment agency is helping people of color get established in arts institutions that are seeking to diversify their staffs. In launching the Verge agency, Lise Ragbir drew on her experience years ago as a young Black woman who sought a place in the New York arts world and “learned that I didn’t have a certain look.” A former art-gallery director at the University of Texas at Austin, Ragbir said many institutions are struggling to keep their promises to hire and retain employees from often-marginalized groups. Beyond helping job seekers find placements, her agency will work with the organizations to create the structures, such as human-resources departments, that create standards and promote cultural change. Diversity consultant Ola Mobolade and gallery executive Julia V. Hendrickson are co-founders, and artists Rashid Johnson and Deborah Roberts are investors in Verge. ([New York Times]( Opinion: Voices on the left and right have blasted hedge-fund billionaire Kenneth Griffin’s huge gift to Harvard University, which raises some thorny points about the ideology and ambitions of America’s richest people. Leftist critics complain that the $300 million naming gift will go to an institution with an already vast endowment, while Griffin’s support of Fla. Gov. Ron DeSantis is an affront to the university’s LGBTQ students and students of color. Conservatives protest that Griffin is supporting an institution that they say generates many of the progressive ideas they abhor. “Indefensibly useless and pathetic,” Ross Douthat writes, the gift simply perpetuates the Harvard status quo, but it also highlights the tenuous relationship between the Republican Party and big donors, who seek not a coherent conservative agenda but rather a check on some forces in the Democratic Party, with which they are otherwise more culturally aligned. ([New York Times]( More News - Gates Foundation Makes Unusual Investment In Experimental Cancer Trial ([Financial Times]( — subscription) - American Jews Must Invest in Israeli Initiatives, Progressive Philanthropist Says ([Jerusalem Post]( - Philanthropist David Rubenstein Spent Years Preserving Objects. Now He’s Looking For Meaning. ([Washington Post]( Nonprofits and Their Missions - Q&A: Jackson’s Springboard to Opportunities Director on What the Nonprofit Learned From Putting Cash Into Low-Income Mothers’ Hands ([Mississippi Today]( - In N.Y., a Nonprofit Helps Ukrainian Refugees Make a Home ([NPR]( - Her Foundation Helps Feed the Needy In St. Louis. She’s 9 Years Old. ([St. Louis Today]( Opinion - Biden Boils the Religious-Liberty Frog: A Series of Innocuous-Sounding Regulations Conceal an Affront to the American Faithful. ([Wall Street Journal]( — subscription) - Giving Money Away Seems Noble, but It Rarely Boosts Economic Growth. ([Wall Street Journal]( — subscription) - Grandmothers of the World, Unite ([New York Times]( Arts and Culture - Newest Exhibit at Valparaiso U.’s Brauer Museum Is on Deaccessioning Artwork ([Chicago Tribune]( - Philly Pops’ Lawsuit Alleges Philadelphia Orchestra-Kimmel Center Is Trying to ‘Put Us out of Business’ ([Philadelphia Inquirer]( - In a Watershed Moment for L.A. Arts, Snehal Desai Becomes First Person of Color to Lead Center Theatre Group ([Los Angeles Times]( Note: In the links in this section, we flag articles that only subscribers can access. But because some journalism outlets offer a limited number of free articles, readers may encounter barriers with other articles we highlight in this roundup. SUBSCRIBE TO THE CHRONICLE Enjoying the newsletter? [Subscribe today]( for unlimited access to nonprofit news and analysis. Editor's Picks OPINION [We Disagree on Many Things, but We Speak With One Voice in Support of Philanthropic Pluralism]( By Heather Templeton Dill, Kathleen Enright, Sam Gill, Brian Hooks, Darren Walker, and Elise Westhoff [STORY IMAGE]( Six philanthropy leaders with differing views about how to address societal problems say it’s time to stand up for the importance of diversity in philanthropic giving and ideas — and against the notion that only one perspective is valid or worthy. FINANCE AND REVENUE [How the Pandemic Left Some Nonprofits Stronger Than Before]( By Drew Lindsay [STORY IMAGE]( Despite forecasts of doom at the start of Covid, many nonprofits emerged fiscally stronger, thanks in part to government and foundation emergency relief as well as a surge in individual giving. Plus, see the rest of our special report on how nonprofits are [rebuilding after Covid](. PEOPLE [How Billionaires Found Joy With $1 Million Gifts to Small Nonprofits]( By Drew Lindsay [STORY IMAGE]( After years of big donations to big organizations, Rob and Karen Hale showered $52 million on 75 mostly small groups, bringing some nonprofit leaders to tears. Plus: See the rest of our [special report]( on the donors who gave the most to charity in 2022. RAMADAN GIVING [Muslim Donors Embrace New Technology, Giving Methods During Ramadan]( By Rasheeda Childress [STORY IMAGE]( More are using donor-advised funds and other progressive methods to share during the holy month. OPINION [As Technology Use Explodes in Classrooms, Philanthropy Must Help Ensure All Students Benefit]( By John Overdeck [STORY IMAGE]( More evidence is needed to gauge whether these tech tools help students succeed. That will require greater donor support for new innovations and large-scale research. ADVERTISEMENT RECOMMENDED WEBINAR [Join Our Next Webinar]( — Savvy fundraisers know it’s essential to figure out which donors and potential supporters are likely to give most generously — and then decide whom to cultivate first. But at many nonprofit organizations, this process involves a lot of guesswork and missed opportunities for gifts. That’s why we've assembled an expert in donor research, along with a successful chief development officer, to show you how to gather the data you need to wisely invest your limited staff time and fundraising budget. Join us live on Thursday, April 20, at 2 p.m. Eastern for a 75-minute session (or watch on demand) to get practical guidance on creating a road map for identifying and building stronger ties with those donors who have the greatest potential to support your work. You'll get tips on mining your database to reveal promising donor behaviors and traits, tools you can use to find solid prospects, and ways to deepen relationships with your leading supporters. [Register today.]( JOB OPPORTUNITIES [Associate Director, Corporate Relations]( Center for a New American Security [Executive Director]( National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws [Pacific Northwest & Alaska Regional Development Coordinator]( National Forest Foundation [Philanthropy Services Manager]( Grand Canyon Conservancy [Director of Major Gifts]( The Chapin School [Director of Major Gifts (Director, Leadership Gifts)]( RAINN [Search other jobs.]( [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. © 2023 [The Chronicle of Philanthropy]( 1255 23rd Street, N.W. Washington, D.C. 20037