Philanthropy This Week

Nati Harnik, AP

Good morning.

The giving season is off to a healthy start, with Warren Buffett making his annual gift to his family’s foundations and GivingTuesday raising $3.6 billion — 16 percent more than last year.

Buffett gave Berkshire Hathaway Class B stock worth $1.2 billion to his family foundation and his three children’s foundations, bringing to $57.7 billion his total giving over the past 18 years, reports Maria Di Mento.

The 94-year-old says that on his death, his fortune, now worth $151 billion, will go to a charitable trust, which his three children will oversee. He’s been impressed with their philanthropy over the years and wants them to distribute the funds within about a decade of his death.

“Susie Jr., Howie, and Peter have each spent far more time directly helping others than I have,” Buffett said. “They enjoy being comfortable financially, but they are not preoccupied with wealth. Their mother, from whom they learned these values, would be very proud of them.”

Susie Buffett’s Sherwood Foundation plans to continue its focus on Warren Buffett’s hometown of Omaha, writes Jeremy Turley, a reporter for the Flatwater Free Press, which is a fellow in the Chronicle’s Philanthropy & Nonprofit Accountability program, in a separate piece. Howard Buffett’s foundation gives globally, supporting agriculture, public health, and peacekeeping. And Peter Buffett and his wife Jennifer’s grant making goes toward gender equality, social justice, and education.

(For more about our yearlong fellowship program, including the application for 2025-26 fellows, see below.)

Another bright spot on the giving front: Despite worries that the election and the economy would hobble giving, 36 million Americans participated in GivingTuesday, topping last year’s numbers by 7 percent, reports Rasheeda Childress.

In a news release announcing the totals, GivingTuesday CEO Asha Curran wrote: “In a world that can feel increasingly divided, we’re seeing people unite through simple acts of kindness that have profound ripple effects.”

Here’s what else you need to know:

Illustration by Elizabeth Haugh, The Chronicle of Philanthropy; Photos by iStock

With Democrats’ resounding loss in the presidential election, progressive foundations and nonprofits need to re-examine how they view the identity of the people they aim to help, writes Eboo Patel in an opinion column.

“How does the Democratic Party, which prides itself on embracing diversity, lose so many minority voters to a candidate who brazenly throws insults at them?” he writes.

There is a disconnect between how the social sector sees people they want to help and how those people see themselves. What white college graduates see as racist, for example, doesn’t always jibe with what people of color find offensive.

“A Cato Institute study found that huge majorities of African Americans and Latinos agree with the statement, ‘Everyone can succeed in this society if they work hard enough,’” he writes. “Just try saying that at a liberal foundation, advocacy organization, or faculty meeting and see how it goes.”

Chronicle Illustration; Julia Nikhinson/AP, OECD/Michael Dean

Three years ago, when now incoming Vice President JD Vance called the Ford Foundation and other elite institutions “cancers on American society,” Ford President Darren Walker took an unusual step: He invited William Schambra, who has held positions at institutions on the right, to speak to his board about the threat of populist conservatism to endowed institutions.

“He didn’t ask to review my comments in advance,” writes Schambra in an opinion column this week. Walker wanted an unvarnished view of what was likely ahead, and Schambra complied, laying bare populist conservatives’ harsh opinions of endowed institutions.

“As progressive philanthropy digests the results of the 2024 presidential election,” writes Schambra, “it should learn from Walker’s preference for pluralism and nuance over rigid adherence to abstract ideological goals.”

Courtesy of Mallory Erickson

Fundraising that’s strictly about bringing in money, rather than being rooted in relationships, is a big source of burnout among fundraisers, reports Jie Jenny Zou.

Mallory Erickson, a longtime fundraiser-turned-executive coach who’s written a book on the subject, speaks from experience.

“A fundraiser told me once, ‘Fundraising makes me feel like a car salesperson,’” she told Jenny. “I was like, wow, this feels really true for me, too. What is it about car salespeople that make us uncomfortable? It’s that we believe they want to sell us the car whether or not it’s the right car for us. We do a lot of the same things in fundraising.”

The Chronicle of Philanthropy is accepting applications for its Philanthropy & Nonprofit Accountability Fellowship. Every year four newsrooms join the program, which is designed to enhance coverage of local giving and nonprofits. Fellows receive training sessions with experts in philanthropy, investigative reporting, and public records throughout the year. Each news organization receives $30,000 to spend on its reporting projects. Learn more about the fellowship and how to apply.

— Marilyn Dickey, Senior Editor, Copy

Robert F. Kennedy Jr., Donald Trump’s nominee to run the Department of Health and Human Services, has lent “his celebrity, and the name of his nonprofit group Children’s Health Defense, to a network of overseas chapters that sow distrust in vaccine safety and spread misinformation far and wide,” according to a New York Times report. Kennedy himself visited Samoa to promote vaccine skepticism a few months before a measles outbreak there that killed 83 people, and a physician adviser with Children’s Health Defense Africa has argued that sex education and contraception programs are conspiracies to suppress Africans’ fertility. An executive with Children’s Health Defense said the adviser’s views do not reflect those of the organization. Kennedy did not respond to a list of questions about the group’s work abroad. (New York Times)

Pete Hegseth, Donald Trump’s nominee for secretary of defense, was forced to step down from two veterans-focused nonprofits he led over concerns about financial mismanagement, a culture of sexual impropriety, and public drunkenness, the New Yorker reports. After several years on the job, conservative donors edged Hegseth out of his leadership job at Vets for Freedom, as the group ran up enormous debt, the magazine’s sources said. Then in 2016, he resigned under pressure from Concerned Veterans for America amid accusations of misbehavior chronicled in a whistleblower’s report. A spokesman for Hegseth dismissed the reporting as “outlandish claims laundered through The New Yorker by a petty and jealous disgruntled former associate of Mr. Hegseth’s.” (New Yorker)

Advocates for diversity, equity, and inclusion programs are gearing up to fight the incoming Trump administration, even as conservatives have already cowed many institutions on the issue. State legislation and pressure from lawmakers have led some universities to roll back their policies. And last year’s congressional drubbing of university professors over anti-Israel protests and campus DEI efforts “got everyone terrified, including private university presidents who previously had been pretty brave about these things,” said Jeremy Young, an executive with PEN America. Further, Donald Trump is likely to reinstate a directive, which Joe Biden had rescinded, banning DEI programs among federal agencies and contractors. “Federal policies do have a domino effect on other states, on foundations, on individual donors,” a lawyer for American for the Arts said. (Guardian)

A Haitian-American group is suing Red Cross affiliates and officials over their handling of hundreds of millions of dollars raised for Haitian relief after a series of natural disasters beginning with the 2010 earthquake. The Haitian Diaspora Political Action Committee argues that the defendants, which include the American, International, and Haitian Red Cross organizations, raised huge sums, which they then used “for personal gain and administrative overhead,” rather than helping Haitians. The American Red Cross said Haiti donations “went into a restricted account that could only be used for programs and services for Haiti. Designated funds are never used for operational deficits or payment of debt.” The suit seeks $1 billion in compensatory and punitive damages. (Miami Herald)

Six former Apple employees in California face multiple felony charges for allegedly stealing about $152,000 from the company via its program to match workers’ charitable contributions. Prosecutors say one of those charged also worked with two nonprofits, to whom the others contributed, triggering matching gifts from Apple. The nonprofit official then reimbursed the employees — who claimed the donations on their taxes — and pocketed Apple’s contributions, according to prosecutors. Apple did not immediately respond to a request for comment. (Los Angeles Times)

A young industry has arisen from this era’s donor scandals, helping charities and cultural institutions do deep dives into potential benefactors’ backgrounds. These businesses use artificial intelligence or teams of researchers to quickly compile comprehensive reports that fundraisers might not have the time or skills to produce. The information helps clients, whose ranks include the University of Pennsylvania, Tufts University, the University of Michigan, King’s College London, and the University of Manchester in the UK, avoid tainted, and occasionally fraudulent, donors. (Robb Report)

Caught between growing demand and declining donations, food charities in Kansas City are expanding the traditional food-bank model to feed hungry people in the region. Harvesters Community Food Network, for example, reported rescuing about 6.6 million pounds of food last year that was to be thrown out by grocery stores, and it is working with farmers to make sure no food is left rotting in the fields. Kansas City Community Gardens provides food from its volunteer-run sites and teaches people how to grow their own. According to one estimate, one in eight adults and one in six children in the region live with food insecurity. (KCUR)

Philanthropy can do much more to address the current crisis affecting men, which shows up in alarming statistics on suicide, violent crime, and physical and mental health. Some estimates suggest that programs specifically for men and boys receive even less than the 2 percent of annual American giving that directly benefits women and girls. Experts and advocates are pleading for more money to train more men as therapists and in other caring professions; intensive tutoring for boys, and more research into how they learn; and more research generally into men’s well-being. (Vox)

American zoos send millions of dollars in donor funds each year to China, essentially to rent giant pandas, to be used for the species’ conservation. But for decades, China has funneled at least some of the money to seemingly unrelated projects, including computer purchases and building projects, while zoo officials have pushed back on federal regulators’ efforts to police the funds more closely lest they lose a star attraction. Meanwhile, some research has found that development in China has left “pandas isolated in ever-smaller populations.” One former zoo conservationist said the program lacks serious scrutiny, while a former regulator who now heads a zoo industry group said it greatly benefits conservation. (New York Times)

Even as arts organizations continue to recover from the financial pain of the pandemic, expensive galas remain a mainstay of the top-end fundraising calendar. Major institutions can charge four- and five-figure sums for tickets to their parties, which can raise millions of dollars. The math is different for smaller organizations, some of which have phased out galas. Defenders of the tradition say the gatherings help build community among donors, giving them a painless way to fundraise, by simply inviting a friend to a party. (New York Times)

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Music: The Music Man Foundation seeks to empower organizations using music to catalyze enduring change. The Foundation is currently accepting applications for the National Meredith Willson Awards, which provide multi-year, general operating support to national programs and organizations using music to achieve systemic change. Grants range from $100,000 to $1,000,000 over a two-year period; application deadline January 24.

Education: The Longview Foundation supports K-12 education projects in the U.S. that build global perspectives in teachers and students. The Foundation provides one-year grants focused on increasing global dimensions within K-12 education in the U.S. in the following strategy areas: Internationalizing Teacher Preparation grants support efforts to expand preservice teachers’ global knowledge and skills. Grants range from $15,000 to $25,000; application deadline January 16.