Philanthropy This Week

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Good morning.

MacKenzie Scott reported on her 2024 giving this week — and added a surprise announcement: She has decided to invest in for-profit companies and funds seeking solutions to problems in housing, health, and other causes, reports Drew Lindsay. She described seeking out “mission-aligned ventures with leaders from the populations they are serving or from generally undercapitalized groups like women and people of color.”

Scott doled out more than $2 billion in donations to 199 organizations this year, bringing her total giving since she started her philanthropy five years ago to $19 billion.

More than 30 of this year’s contributions were for groups she’d supported before. That’s a big jump from the past. She’d given multiple donations to only 13 nonprofits before that.

One of those recipients this year was to Undue Medical Debt, which received a rare third gift — $50 million — from Scott, reports Stephanie Beasley in a separate piece.

“I’m frankly astounded by this most recent gift from MacKenzie Scott and feel proud to be a steward of these funds as we continue the essential work of dismantling the yoke of medical debt that’s burdening far too many families in this country,” CEO Allison Sesso told Stephanie.

Scott wasn’t the only big philanthropist on our radar this week. Three donors made single gifts of $1 billion or more this year, reports Maria Di Mento in another piece — her annual roundup of the biggest single contributions of the year. Reed Hastings, co-founder of Netflix, and his wife, Patty Quillin, top the list for their $1.1 billion donation to their Hastings Fund at Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and Ruth Gottesman, professor emerita at Albert Einstein College of Medicine, were the other two.

Look for Maria’s annual Philanthropy 50 roundup of the top donors of 2024, which tallies all of their giving for the year. That’s coming in March.

Here’s what else you need to know:

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Conservatives taking over the White House and Congress in January are set on making changes to philanthropy and nonprofits, writes columnist Craig Kennedy in an opinion piece.

Among the possibilities: giving the Treasury Department broad powers to strip nonprofits of their charitable status under certain circumstances, taxing university endowments, and placing restrictions on donor-advised funds.

These proposals will “face fierce opposition,” writes Kennedy. “The nonprofit sector has an effective set of lobbying groups that know how to use local interests and organizations such as community foundations to thwart reform efforts.”

Alex Garcia

Nonprofits are always on the hunt for better board members. Two brothers, both financiers, have an idea to fix the shortage, reports George Anders. They committed $25 million of charitable gifts from their firm, Golub Capital, to leading business schools to include board training as a central focus.

So far the effort serves a small fraction of the accredited MBA programs and an even tinier slice of nonprofits, but David Finegold, executive director of the Golub Capital Board Fellows Network, told George: “Our hope is that as we build up, we can extend to a really wide range of programs.”

Three foundations in the Northwest with different approaches to giving have one thing in common: their leaders are all Gen X women of color. And despite the diverging agendas of their philanthropies, the three get together regularly to talk about what’s on their minds. Together, the Ford Family Foundation, the Meyer Memorial Trust in Oregon, and the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust are responsible for billions of philanthropic dollars. Another thing the leaders have in common: All three came from nonprofits rather than the corporate world or academia, and all are determined to improve on the grant-seeking experience they had in previous jobs.

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Keep focusing on philanthropy’s racial-justice efforts, not on efforts to impede them, urges columnist Cora Daniels in a separate opinion piece. “Because we were so successful in changing people’s hearts and minds around race and gender and class, the people in power wanted their power back. So that’s what they’re doing — a power grab.”

As they push back, racial-justice advocates must push forward. “As we close out the year, let’s make a sectorwide New Year’s resolution to remain undaunted, determined, and dedicated to the long-term work that equity requires,” Daniels writes.

How many of these 15 questions can you answer about anonymous gifts, celebrity donors, and more?

— Marilyn Dickey, Senior Editor, Copy

Tech billionaires are writing checks to fund Donald Trump’s second inauguration as they seek a friendlier relationship with the incoming administration. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman plans to give $1 million. Trump has vowed to rescind a Biden-era rule that aims to minimize the risks of artificial intelligence. Facebook parent Meta has also given $1 million as, reportedly, has Amazon. Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg reportedly met recently with Trump after being a frequent target of the former president’s wrath. Amazon founder Jeff Bezos said recently he wants to help Trump cut tech regulations. (Los Angeles Times)

With Donald Trump’s history of skepticism of global organizations, and his choice of an anti-vaccine activist as the country’s top health official, international health organizations fear cuts in funding from the United States are imminent. Groups including the World Health Organization, vaccine-supplier Gavi, and others combating infectious diseases are seeking tens of billions of dollars from philanthropies and governments as viruses mutate and infections spread and become resistant to treatments. The United States provides about half of all aid for global health. (New York Times)

More of the country’s wealthiest people are giving in ways that benefit themselves as well as the recipients of their largesse. Elon Musk has gotten significant tax relief by donating millions in cash and Tesla shares to entities, including his own foundation, that he can be reasonably sure will act as friendly shareholders in the electric-car maker. Others look to impact investing, putting their money into ventures that might have similar goals to charities, but have the potential to offer financial returns. (Axios)

In an effort to stop the revolving door between shelters and the street for homeless people, Seattle and surrounding King County have made their shelters more private and quieter. The private and semiprivate spaces that replaced dorm-style accommodations have persuaded some residents to stay longer, allowing them to access more services, giving them a better shot at permanent housing. But the shelters have become jammed up as housing remains in short supply, and, as a result, it is more difficult to get in on any given night. (Seattle Times)

Under a tight deadline, OpenAI, a leading developer of artificial intelligence technology, is trying to figure out how to sever ties to the nonprofit that controls it. Executives must settle on fair compensation to the nonprofit for what one adviser called a “unique and potentially earth-shattering” technology. Among the new corporate structures under consideration is a public benefit corporation, owned in part by the nonprofit, in order to assuage public fears about the dangers of A.I. The company must make the switch within two years or recent major investments will convert to debt. (New York Times)

Sesame Street is looking for a new home after Warner Bros. Discovery announced it would drop the venerable children’s program from its Max streaming service. In 2019, the nonprofit Sesame Workshop, which produces Sesame Street, struck a lucrative deal granting Max predecessor HBO exclusive rights to present new episodes for nine months. Max now says it is shifting away from children’s programming. Potential new homes for the show include Apple TV+, Netflix, and Amazon. (New York Times)

The Supreme Court has agreed to hear a case from South Carolina over whether the state can block Medicaid funds to Planned Parenthood because the nonprofit health organization provides abortions. Public funds cannot be used for abortions, but Planned Parenthood provides testing and routine reproductive health care under the state’s Medicaid program. In a succession of courts, Planned Parenthood has prevailed against South Carolina’s attempts to block all Medicaid funding to it. (Washington Post)

A private-equity billionaire accused of fraud has been kicked off the list of Giving Pledge donors. Arif Naqvi founded the Dubai-based Abraaj Group investment firm, which collapsed in 2018. He has been fighting extradition to the United States to face fraud charges since being arrested in London in 2019. A spokesperson for the billionaire donors group said Naqvi was removed “in accordance with the spirit and intention of the Giving Pledge community.” Naqvi, who has denied wrongdoing, could not be reached for comment. (New York Times)

In California, the Homecoming Project is helping men and women recently out of prison return to a “normal” life. Pairing former prisoners with volunteer homeowners who receive a stipend to offer a spare room for six months, the program offers an alternative to halfway houses for a population with a disproportionate rate of homelessness. It was launched by Impact Justice, a national criminal-justice reform nonprofit, and is funded in part by the Conrad N. Hilton Foundation. Of the 37 former inmates who have passed through the program so far in the Bay Area, none have returned to prison. (Los Angeles Times)

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Community Trust: The Trust in American Institutions Challenge, sponsored by Reid Hoffman and administered by Lever for Change, is a $10 million open call designed to scale a bold solution that will build and restore public trust in the core institutions that form the pillars of society in the United States. The Challenge seeks transformative solutions that are poised to reverse recent trends and significantly increase public trust in core institutions (such as public schools, government bodies, the media, and the medical system) in the U.S. in the next five years. Five $200,000 project development grants will be provided, with one finalist awarded $9 million to implement their solution; application deadline February 19, 2025.

Bridging Divides: Interfaith America’s Strengthening the Campus Community grants support projects based at U.S. colleges and universities that bring together diverse groups of students in order to bridge meaningful divides on their campus or between students on campus and their local community. Supported projects should respond in a positive and swift way to the atmosphere on their campuses after the 2024 election, engage undergraduate students, and utilize interfaith skills and knowledge to mobilize or connect with a diverse group of students and campus community members. Grants up to $5,000; application deadline January 31, 2025.

We will not be sending Philanthropy This Week next week because of the holidays, but we will be back in your inbox January 4. In the meantime, we will update our website with any breaking news.