Philanthropy This Week

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Good morning.

Having the right data and knowing how to use it to show donors what you’re accomplishing can be a game changer for nonprofits. Most nonprofit leaders agree, but only 20 percent say they have those skills, reports Lisa Schohl.

Where to begin? Come up with an impact strategy by thinking about what data would show you’re succeeding at your mission. Be sure you’re measuring impact — how you’re changing lives, for example, not the number of people you’ve reached — and be sure it’s what your organization is trying to accomplish, not what a funder thinks you should.

“Most organizations have some things they’re wondering about, about how it’s working,” says Cindy Eby, founder of ResultsLab, which helps charities use data well. “Start there and capture data to answer those questions.”

Laying the groundwork to create your impact strategy takes time and advanced planning. The resulting impact report should combine quantitative and qualitative data with graphics, photos, and other visual elements.

When it’s time to share your report, be strategic. Highlight only the strongest points — but don’t be afraid to include what didn’t work. “It’s nice to have a shiny, beautiful, very positive, radiant impact report,” says Aliana Piñeiro, impact director at Boston Impact Initiative, but don’t hesitate to include a small “lessons learned” section about what didn’t work and what you took away from the experience.

Here’s what else you need to know:

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With donor-advised funds accounting for 10 percent of giving, fundraisers are honing their strategies to attract more of that money to their organization. And for good reason, reports Rasheeda Childress: Donors who have given in the past by credit card, check, or other means and then give from their DAF tend to contribute 96 percent more, according to a report by Chariot, a DAF payment processor. And the retention rate for DAF donors is15 percent higher than for other supporters.

Rasheeda has looked into the most recent research about donor-advised funds ahead of DAF Day, October 10, which Chariot is launching to try to do for DAFs what GivingTuesday has done for end-of-year giving.

“The goal is just to raise awareness of what DAFs are and why they’re helpful,” Mitch Stein of Chariot told Rasheeda. “Then to activate donors with a specific, dedicated day where people really feel like a part of something.”

Chronicle Illustration; World Economic Forum, Paul Elledge/University of Chicago, Jon Tadiello/MIT Media Lab, Johns Hopkins University, Michael Lisnet/Simons Foundation

Ultra-wealthy charitable donors are on track to pour more money into politics than ever before, reports Eden Stiffman. Political candidates, political-action committees, and super PACS have received huge sums from the likes of Ken Griffin, Paul Singer, Michael Bloomberg, and Reid Hoffman.

Of the 100 top political donors, 44 are also among the top charitable donors, having given more than $541 million to federal campaigns during the 2023-24 election cycle. That doesn’t count funds going to “dark money” organizations — 501(c)(4) nonprofits, also called social-welfare groups, which don’t have to disclose their donors.

More of those funds are going to Republicans and conservative groups than to Democrats and liberal groups, though some people have given to both sides.

“Individuals or families of extreme wealth have a whole portfolio of ways that they are deploying their wealth,” Katherina Rosqueta of the University of Pennsylvania’s Center for High Impact Philanthropy told Eden, adding: “Money is power, and philanthropy is just one way of being able to assert influence in society.”

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A new study reveals the complex landscape of giving in the United States and how it flows and shifts with time, wealth concentration, geography, and other factors, reports Sara Herschander.

The report by GivingTuesday, Candid, and Network for Good comes when nonprofits are grappling with the rise of giving among wealthy donors at the expense of midlevel and smaller donors. It shows the different causes favored by individuals versus foundations, the uneven distribution of nonprofits and donors across the country, and patterns that vary by donor type and wealth.

Outdated fundraising practices and barriers to collaboration are hurting nonprofits, Asha Curran, CEO of GivingTuesday, told Sara. “Nonprofits are often so under the gun to meet their mission every day, to bring in enough resources to pay their people, and to constantly be chasing the next grant cycles,” she said. “There can be so little time left over to pursue innovation, business development, new best practices, and experimentation. Nonprofits are not incentivized to do those things.”

— Marilyn Dickey, Senior Editor, Copy

The recent settlement of the Fearless Fund lawsuit, which challenged racial preferences in grant-making, helped limit the implications of the case and showed other philanthropies how to avoid such suits themselves. The lawsuit, brought by opponents of affirmative action, stopped before it reached the Supreme Court, averting a nationwide precedent like the one in 2023 that banned racial considerations in college admissions. Meanwhile, given the plaintiffs’ argument that the Fearless Foundation was writing racial discrimination into its contracts, experts are advising “organizations to ensure they limit any requirements placed on potential grantees so a grant can’t be construed as a contract.” (Barron’s)

Billionaire Michael Bloomberg’s $140 million-plus effort to get more low-income students into top colleges has so far come up short. Over the past decade, Bloomberg Philanthropies has worked with a remote college-counseling service and a group of college presidents who lead schools with high graduation rates. But many students recruited for the online counseling did not sign on. And the college presidents’ group fell far short of its goal of attracting 50,000 more low-income students to their campuses, partly because many did not initially commit to specific changes in their admissions or financial aid policies. Bloomberg Philanthropies has shifted its focus to first-generation college students and “expanding an advising model that employs current college students.” (Wall Street Journal — subscription)

Stung by right-wing criticism and frustrated by his encounters with Washington, Mark Zuckerberg is pulling away from politics. The Facebook billionaire believes that trying to work with politicians has done more harm than good to his company, Meta, according to those who have spoken with him. At the same time, he and his wife, Priscilla Chan, have shut down projects of their philanthropic LLC, the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, that could be read as partisan, including its justice and opportunity division. They also do not plan to repeat the $400 million donation they made in 2020 to shore up election infrastructure, which Republicans have lambasted. (New York Times)

The University of Chicago has received an anonymous $100 million gift to support free expression. Part of the money will go to the school’s year-old Forum for Free Inquiry and Expression, which will expand programming and launch a global fellowship and research program on “emerging free expression issues.” For decades, the university has embraced a policy of “institutional neutrality” on social and political issues and more recently devised free speech guidelines that have been adopted by other institutions — although it was criticized last year for its strict treatment of students participating in a pro-Palestinian sit-in. (Chicago Tribune)

Presiding over his family foundation’s annual summit in New York City, former President Bill Clinton told the gathering that philanthropic commitments that improve people’s lives are key to strengthening faith in democratic institutions worldwide. The Clinton Foundation unveiled 175 new commitments throughout the summit, including more than $466 million from the Department of Agriculture, working with nongovernmental organizations to bolster food security in 16 other countries. “The reality is if you have people who are well fed, you’re going to have less strife,” U.S. Secretary of Agriculture Tom Vilsack said. (Associated Press)

Once an inspiration for the White House and schools around the world, the healthy-food nonprofit started by legendary chef and activist Alice Waters is drifting into chaos and deficits, some insiders say. At the Edible Schoolyard’s five-acre farm in Stockton, Calif., current and former staff complain of a crushing workload and meager resources. The organization, which receives public and private grants, is on track to run a $670,000 deficit. One executive blamed the pandemic for fundraising woes, although the nonprofit’s grants and contributions have more than doubled since 2019. Others blame an organizational focus on the future Alice Waters Institute, a partnership with the University of California, Davis, that will honor the legacy of the octogenarian chef but whose purpose has repeatedly shifted. (San Francisco Chronicle — Opinion)

Prosecutors in Georgia have dropped all 15 counts of money laundering against three activists opposing a major new police training facility outside Atlanta. Prosecutors had said the three defendants had illegally funneled money through a bail fund, which was supposed to be used for charitable purposes, to reimburse protesters in an encampment. The trio, along with 58 others, still face racketeering charges, as prosecutors argue the “Stop Cop City” protests are a violent movement led by “militant anarchists.” (Associated Press)

A coalition of activists, partly backed by money linked to fossil fuel industries, is using the critically endangered right whale as a tool to stop wind power projects. Save Right Whales blames the construction and operation of wind turbines for whale deaths, although many scientists instead blame collisions with ships and entanglements with commercial fishing lines. The coalition or its members have received indirect contributions from a think tank backed by the foundation of oil billionaire Charles G. Koch and via a libertarian think tank “funded in part by a trade group representing the fossil-fuel industry.” It sometimes partners with another coalition whose members also receive money from Koch family foundations. (Wall Street Journal — subscription)

A nonprofit provider of housing for homeless people in Los Angeles has received a $10 million federal grant to support tenant-advocacy groups, even as an organizer in one of its buildings accuses it of stymying efforts to start a tenants union there. The AIDS Healthcare Foundation, which has faced lawsuits and complaints over conditions in several Los Angeles buildings it owns, plans to distribute the funds to residents of buildings it does not own. The award highlights the conflict “between the foundation’s attempts to serve both as tenant advocates and Skid Row landlords.” A spokesperson for the Housing and Urban Development Department did not answer questions about vetting for grants, and a spokesperson for the foundation noted it had been “an esteemed federal grantee at the global, national and local level for 35 years.” (Los Angeles Times)

Alleging a pattern of questionable spending, Los Angeles County is suing a philanthropy set up nine years ago to raise money for the fire department. The L.A. County Fire Department Foundation raised an average of $1.9 million “in gifts, grants, and contributions” annually from 2019 to 2022, according to court filings. It says it has given more than $5 million to the LAFD. The county takes issue with large payments to the foundation’s president and a vendor, among other things, but the foundation and vendor say they were performance bonuses and reimbursement for goods and services. A judge has frozen most of the organization’s money and is winding it down. (Los Angeles Times)

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Animal Companions: The AKC (American Kennel Club) Humane Fund’s Women’s Shelters Grant program provides financial assistance to domestic abuse shelters in the United States that accept pets. Preference is given to nonprofit organizations that provide temporary or permanent housing for victims of domestic abuse and their pets. Nonprofit organizations that provide housing for victims’ pets (pet shelters) and have a working relationship with at least one shelter for victims of domestic abuse are also eligible to apply.

Performing Arts: USArtists International, a program of Mid Atlantic Arts, supports in-person performances by U.S. artists and ensembles across all performing arts practices and disciplines at international festivals, global presenting arts marketplaces, and other eligible engagements outside of the United States. The aim is to encourage the presence of U.S. performing artists on international stages and support international tours that develop and expand the careers and artistic goals of U.S. performers by providing connections with presenters, curators, and fellow artists; promote cross cultural exchange through performances or additional activities and workshops; and elevate traditions, aesthetics, art forms, and voices that have been historically underrepresented. Matching grants of up to $11,000 are provided for eligible travel expenses; application deadline February 26.