Chronicle Insider

Illustration by The Chronicle, Adobe Stock

Dear Subscriber,

It’s my pleasure to introduce the latest issue of the Chronicle of Philanthropy!

The October issue offers a compelling snapshot of the concerns that animate philanthropy at this moment. The seismic effects of A.I. on the field. The continuing struggle to truly measure impact. The looming challenge of climate change and how to fight it. The difficulties of keeping your organization focused amid the cascading pressures of a turbulent time.

This month’s cover story, by Eden Stiffman, offers an intriguing zoom-out: She looks at how corporate philanthropy — specifically local giving by big corporations — has changed over time. Fortune 500 companies are giving away a smaller share of their profits than they used to. What happens to the nonprofits in their backyards?

The story is a lot more nuanced than you might think — and, as Eden shows, it might be suggestive of philanthropy’s broader evolution.

Elsewhere in the issue:

• The case for reining in all institutions with large endowments — including universities, museums, and hospitals
• A useful guide to segmenting your donors and tailoring your appeals to raise more money
• A look at a nonprofit that provides equipment for people with disabilities to help them stay active
• The foundation that jump-started the search for a cure for sickle-cell disease
• Expert advice on how to improve your grant proposals and connect with program officers

Of course, there’s much more on our website, philanthropy.com.

If you haven’t done so yet, we encourage you to sign up for our popular daily newsletter, Philanthropy Today, so you won’t miss any of our daily offerings. We also have a weekly newsletter, Philanthropy This Week, which goes out every Saturday to tell you all you need to know in the world of philanthropy.

Sign up for those newsletters and more here.

And in case you didn’t know, we have an exciting program of webinars and online forums to help you excel at your job.

• On October 12, we’ll have a webinar that would be perfect as you finalize your year-end fundraising strategy: Smart Ways to Attract Online Donors, a 75-minute session featuring experts on how to craft successful online campaigns and maximize donor engagement.
• On October 26, we’ll host a webinar on Corporate Grant Seeking in the Current Climate. It will feature a corporate leader who oversees Boeing’s philanthropic efforts and a director who has increased revenue at her nonprofit by 50 percent.
• In case you missed it, we had an excellent online forum last week on how to rebuild public trust in philanthropy that you can still watch.

We hope you enjoy the October issue. Please do not hesitate to reach out — we love hearing from our readers. Thank you for subscribing and supporting our journalism.

Elbert Ventura, editor-in-chief