Philanthropy Today

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Muslim giving in the United States has shifted focus in the decades since the 9/11 attacks from international relief to civil rights and social justice. Muslim-led organizations in the United States raise the bulk of their budgets in the three months before, during, and after Ramadan, which this year runs from April 12 to May 12. Although international relief still gets the biggest share of donations from Muslims, the recent focus on racial justice has accelerated a trend that began after the 9/11 terror attacks, when some large international Muslim charities shut down amid suspicion of funding terrorism. Muslims “tend to focus on funding nonprofits dedicated to basic needs such as food banks, health-care clinics, and social-service organizations helping with adoption or mental health” and they give about as often to causes outside the Muslim community as to causes within it. (Religion News Service)

Melinda French Gates could emerge from her divorce from husband Bill as a more influential philanthropist, using her own considerable fortune to supercharge causes she cares about. She will be one of the richest women in the world, already involved in efforts to cultivate women leaders in various fields. French Gates has also become a loud voice against gender disparities made worse by the pandemic, such as collapsing child care and long-term care systems that leave women largely responsible for the well-being of young and elderly loved ones. It’s not clear how much money she will have, but the Gateses have already begun to split a fortune pegged by Bloomberg at $145 billion. Bill Gates recently transferred stock worth almost $2.4 billion to Melinda French Gates. Other holdings that could be divided include vast farmland acreage and stocks in clean-energy startups, a distiller, and hospitality companies, among others. (Washington Post, Bloomberg, and the Wall Street Journal — subscription)

More About the Gates Foundation

• Let’s Review How Bill and Melinda Gates Spent Billions of Dollars to Change Public Education (Washington Post)
• Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Faces Uncertain Governance After Split (Financial Times — subscription)

More News

• Jeff Bezos’s Blue Origin Will Raise Funds for Its Foundation by Auctioning Off a Trip to Space (Washington Post)
• Nonprofits Are Responding to Calls for Greater Diversity Even as Employees Raise Workplace-Equity Questions (Star Tribune)
• As Covid Ravages Poorer Countries, Rich Nations Spring Back to Life (New York Times)
• Diaspora Boosts India’s Virus Fight (Associated Press)
• Susan G. Komen Maryland to Dissolve, Donate Remaining Assets to Breast-Cancer Treatment (Baltimore Sun)
• San Diego County Demands $6.5 Million Repayment From Nonprofit (San Diego Union-Tribune)
• Incyte to Pay $12.6 Million to Resolve Drug Charity Kickback Claims (Reuters)
• Catholic U. Receives $20 Million (Again) From Major Donors to Nursing Program (Washington Post)