Philanthropy Today

Going door to door with hidden cameras in immigrant-heavy neighborhoods, the Heritage Foundation has been creating videos that falsely claim noncitizens are voting in significant numbers in swing states, according to a New York Times report. An arm of the conservative think tank has taken tiny samples — 50 people in Georgia, 40 in North Carolina — to conclude that noncitizen voting poses a threat to the coming elections. Repeated analyses of the issue, including one by the Heritage Foundation itself and another by Georgia’s Republican secretary of state, have found no such evidence, and some of those recorded as saying they were registered have backed away from such declarations. Heritage stands by its claim. (New York Times)

Background from the Chronicle: As ‘Pro-Democracy’ Philanthropy Grows, Experts Warn of Many Obstacles to Combating Misinformation

A Texas energy magnate is pushing a $300 million lawsuit that could drive Greenpeace USA into bankruptcy. Billionaire Kelcy Warren’s Energy Transfer, an oil- and gas-pipeline provider, is suing the environmental group over its role in impeding the Dakota Access pipeline beginning in 2016. The lawsuit “alleges several Greenpeace entities incited the Dakota Access protests, funded attacks to damage the pipeline, and spread misinformation about the company and its project.” Greenpeace denies involvement in violence or property destruction, and critics of the suit say it threatens activists’ free speech. (Wall Street Journal— subscription)

More News

• The Future of J.D. Vance’s Charity in Ohio Is Unclear (New York Times)
  
  • Background from the Chronicle: J.D. Vance and His Many Philanthropy Grievances: What’s at Stake
• ‘Knowing When to Stop’: Why a Kalamazoo, Mich., Nonprofit Abandoned Its Homeless Pod Plan (MLive)
  
  • Background from the Chronicle: Foundations Are Funding Tiny Home Villages for the Homeless. Is It a Worthwhile Effort?
• The Shelter and the Storm: What Happened When the Nation’s Immigration Crisis Came to a Small Town in Massachusetts (Washington Post)
• An Unlikely Line of Defense During Heat Waves: Food Banks (Grist)
  
  • Background from the Chronicle: Did Taylor Swift Create a New Era for Food Bank Donations?
• Boston’s Combined Jewish Philanthropies Increasingly Take on Antisemitism: ‘American Jewish Life as We Know It Has Changed’ (Boston Business Journal)
  
  • Background from the Chronicle: In the Face of Growing Antisemitism, Silence From Secular Philanthropy Is Unacceptable
• Warren Buffett Has Donated Over Half His Wealth to These Five Foundations (Business Insider)

Opinion

• Scholarly Associations Aren’t Entitled to Their Opinions (Wall Street Journal— subscription)
• Why I Am Resigning as a Brown Trustee: Allowing a Vote On Divestment From Israel Is an Act of Cowardice. (Wall Street Journal— subscription)
  
  • Background from the Chronicle: The Donor Revolt Comes to Annual Giving: Israel, Gaza, and Campus Unrest

Note: In the links in this section, we flag articles that only subscribers can access. But because some journalism outlets offer a limited number of free articles, readers may encounter barriers with other articles we highlight in this roundup.