Philanthropy This Week

Evan Vucci, AP

Good morning.

Nonprofits are understandably fearful amid threats to federal funding and other Trump policy changes, but foundations have largely been slow to respond to their pleas, reports Stephanie Beasley.

Exceptions include Michael Bloomberg. “Bloomberg Philanthropies’ philosophy and approach has not changed,” a spokesperson for the grant maker told Stephanie. “Regardless of who holds federal office, we will continue to look for unmet needs, tackling challenges that are either overlooked or underfunded but cannot be ignored.”

Foundations can’t match the enormous sums the federal government has provided to nonprofits, and the administration has already vowed to investigate grant makers whose ideologies don’t jibe with its own, Benjamin Soskis told Stephanie, so grant makers might not want to raise their visibility even if they do step up their giving. But they must try to fill the gaps, Soskis contended.

Staying close to donors is more important than ever, reports Rasheeda Childress in another article, with nonprofits worried about government funding cuts, especially to DEI efforts. Among the suggestions from experts: Boards and executive teams should work together to do scenario planning and cash-flow analysis, Sarah Krasin of CCS Fundraising told Rasheeda. Nonprofits need to “equip our boards to be ready, not to react but to really thoughtfully plan for what we know is a changed environment,” she said.

A judge this week extended a block on Trump’s funding freeze, but many nonprofits think the fight over federal payments is just starting, report Alex Daniels and Sara Herschander in another article. Even after Trump rescinded the order, some nonprofits had trouble getting payments. “Trump came at us with an elephant gun. He’s coming back with a scalpel,” said Robert Hayes, president of New York’s Community Healthcare Network.

In an opinion piece, Lisa Pilar Cowan of the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation writes that grant makers need to reassure their grantees that they’re with them during these tumultuous times. She suggests three questions foundations should ask themselves to be as supportive as possible, starting with, “Are we providing as much money as possible?”

For more articles and opinion pieces about the administration, see Nonprofits and the Trump Agenda, which we continually update.

Other highlights from this week:

A new generation of fundraisers is bringing fresh ideas to the profession, reports Rasheeda Childress in the cover story of our new February issue. They have a passion for the mission and are equally deft at raising money from young new donors and longtime supporters. But they grapple with finding mentors and charting a career path. Rasheeda asked some fundraisers with a few more years under their belts to offer newbies advice about dealing with nerves, rejection, among other issues they face.

Keeping in touch with donors all year long is key to building solid relationships and meeting revenue goals, reports Lisa Schohl. To do that, you need to map out a flexible plan that you can adjust as changes happen. In talking to experts, Lisa found 14 steps to get you there.

Two nonprofit leaders who pulled off a successful merger share their tips for other groups wanting to join forces to have a greater impact. Write Janet Carter and Jason Sacks, who now run the merged group, Positive Coaching Alliance: “More than two years after joining together, … we are now well on our way to delivering on our promise of improving access to sports for 7 million young people by 2027, with half coming from underresourced communities.”

— Marilyn Dickey, Senior Editor, Copy

Federal funds have started to flow for some, but not all, of the nonprofits that were left high and dry by the Trump administration’s aborted freeze on federal grants. But even those groups worry that they could be cut off in the future. Among those still without access to their funds are groups “that focus on issues President Trump has targeted with his executive orders, like climate change, diversity, and sexuality.” The continuing freeze appears to be in defiance of a federal judge’s order to lift it. Various federal agencies did not respond to requests for comment. (New York Times)

Elon Musk’s plan to shut down the U.S. Agency for International Development would abandon conservation programs around the world that have protected wildlife and given locals an alternative to criminal activity. A national park in Colombia employs former guerrillas as guides. In a park in Mozambique, USAID has trained hundreds of rangers and brought wild animals back to an area devastated by civil war. An American philanthropist and entrepreneur who supports the Mozambique project noted that U.S. development aid has helped combat “four international criminal enterprises that are closely entwined: human trafficking, drug trafficking, arms trafficking, and exotic wildlife trafficking.” (New York Times)

The Justice Department has rescinded a stop-work order it issued for nonprofits that help prepare migrants for immigration court, after a coalition of groups sued the federal government Friday. The program, which has had bipartisan support, gets $29 million annually to explain the complicated system of immigration courts, help fill out forms, translate, and provide other services. Its supporters say it not only aids immigrants but also helps a clogged system run more efficiently. (Associated Press)

Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan’s charity will continue its diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts even as Zuckerberg’s Meta social media company abandons them, a top executive at the charity has told worried employees. Although the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative has sometimes echoed organizational shifts first made at Meta, “Meta and CZI are and will remain separate organizations with entirely different and independent commitments. … Like in this case, Meta’s changes to its DEI efforts does not impact ours,” the charity’s head of human resources told other executives and managers in a Slack group. CZI’s website says it brings a “diversity, equity, and inclusion lens” to its philanthropic work. (Guardian)

Jeff Bezos’s Earth Fund has ended its support for a group that monitors companies’ progress toward their climate-related targets, Bloomberg reports, citing the Financial Times. The Amazon founder’s $10 billion philanthropy has been one of two primary funders of the Science Based Targets initiative. Staff of the monitoring group had complained about the Earth Fund’s influence as the SBTi moved to allow companies to use carbon credits to offset emissions figures. Bezos has also made goodwill gestures to the second Trump administration, which is hostile to major climate initiatives. “SBTi and the Bezos Earth Fund did not immediately reply to emails seeking comment sent outside usual office hours,” Bloomberg writes. (Bloomberg)

Billionaire developer Rick Caruso has launched a foundation to rebuild Los Angeles. Caruso, who waged an unsuccessful campaign for mayor in 2022, said he will put “millions” into the Steadfast LA foundation, which has already enlisted the unpaid help of top engineers, designers, architects, and executives from other industries. He said he will push for more fire-resistant infrastructure, including underground power lines and upgraded water supplies. (Los Angeles Times)

The country’s most generous philanthropists stepped up their giving by 14 percent last year, while their collective wealth grew by 18.5 percent, according to Forbes’s annual listing. In absolute terms, Warren Buffett has been the most generous lifetime giver, with donations totaling $62 billion, or 30 percent of his fortune. He gave away $5.3 billion last year. Bill Gates and Melinda French Gates have donated $47.7 billion separately and combined, or 26 percent of their combined net worth, throughout their lives. The foundation they shared until mid-2024 spent $8.6 billion last year. George Soros has given away the largest share of his wealth over his lifetime, 76 percent. (Forbes— subscription)

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Mental Health: The Sidney R. Baer, Jr. Foundation supports nonprofit organizations and institutions doing work that will impact the field of mental health, with a focus on schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and bipolar disorder. Support is provided for programs within the continental United States that promote positive change in the lives of those living with schizophrenia, schizoaffective disorder, and bipolar disorder in the following grant categories: education, criminal justice, reintegration, clinical research, and social support. Deadline for letters of intent is March 1.

Higher Education: The Michael & Susan Dell Foundation is currently offering support through the Connecting Higher Education to Career Success request for proposals. Funding is available for organizations creating student pathways from college to in-demand jobs. The Foundation seeks to fund partners who align with its goal of creating opportunities for students while addressing workforce needs. Funds can be used to pilot new programming, bring proven approaches to scale, or develop the partnerships that make this work possible. Application deadline is February 28.