Philanthropy Today

The appeal of effective altruism — doing the most good with your charitable giving — is self-evident, but some causes do not lend themselves to easy measurement for how to optimize charitable gifts to make the most impact, and the movement tends to neglect smaller organizations that help weave our communities together, writes New York Times reporter Emma Goldberg. What’s more, its “earning to give” approach helps justify the accumulation of enormous wealth in the face of stark inequality, as long as the rich write big checks to charity. (New York Times)

Background from the Chronicle: This Is Effective Altruism? New Book Offers Unflattering Glimpses of Sam Bankman-Fried’s Philanthropy

Perennial Republican efforts to defund public media could get more traction under the second Trump administration than they have in the past. This time, the attacks will dovetail with the effort led by Elon Musk and Vivek Ramaswamy to cut federal spending, and they will come as NPR’s listeners increasingly decamp to its digital competitors. (Semafor)

More News

• Colleges Scramble to Shield Programs Amid Growing Hostility From GOP (Washington Post)
• Compensation Leaps 40 percent Across Our list of New York’s Highest-Paid Nonprofit Leaders (Crain’s New York Business)
  
  • Background from the Chronicle: Nonprofit Executive Pay Rises, but Inflation and Gender Gap Issues Persist, Report Finds
• A Rare interview With Howard Buffett, the Philanthropist We’ll All Be Talking About (Devex)
• Thousands of Private Bridges Were Damaged in North Carolina During Helene. Nonprofits Are Helping Rebuild. (Asheville Citizen Times)
  
  • Background from the Chronicle: Foundations Contribute to Hurricane Helene Recovery Efforts
• Realtors’ Nonprofit Is Politically Motivated, Some Say (New York Times)

Opinion

• It’s Time for Private Foundations to Start Paying a Fairer Share (Bloomberg Tax)
• Climate Activists Need to Radically Change Their Approach Under Trump (New York Times)
• Why the Great Philanthropists Are Often Religious (Times UK)
• Not Another revival of Band Aid’s ‘Do They Know It’s Christmas?’ (Los Angeles Times)

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