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Philanthropy Today

A free email with news, trends, and opinion articles about the nonprofit world, as well as links to our tools, resources, and webinars. Delivered every weekday. Philanthropy Today subscribers also get a bonus weekly email called Philanthropy Today — The Commons, about how America’s nonprofits and foundations are working to heal the nation’s divides.

August 11, 2025
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From: Philanthropy Today

Subject: Spending Down: Why Some Foundations Are Choosing to Sunset

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  • Leon Levine, at center, founder of Family Dollar, holds the stock ticker tape on the day Family Dollar went public in January 1970.
    Foundations

    What Is More Urgent Than Today? Why Some Foundations Are Choosing to Wind Down

    By Alex Daniels August 11, 2025
    Among the main reasons philanthropists decide to spend down: the desire to make an immediate impact and fear that future generations won’t adhere to their wishes.
  • Boaters cruise along the Potomac River at sunset on a warm spring evening in Washington, D.C.
    Grant Making

    Should Every Foundation Sunset? Weighing the Pros and Cons

    By Alex Daniels August 11, 2025
    Operating in perpetuity and spending down can both be effective strategies. The key is for a foundation to match its spending approach to its purpose.
  • Joan and Sanford I. Weill
    Gifts Roundup

    Weills Give $100 Million for Tech-Driven Cancer Research

    By Maria Di Mento August 11, 2025
    Plus, tiny Harcum College, whose enrollment stands at about 1,150, received a $40 million bequest. Three other institutions received big gifts.
  • icon of an envelope in a bright gradient on a black background.
    Letters to the Editor

    Rich Donors Must Push Each Other to Give More

    August 11, 2025
    The Giving Pledge’s failures show why philanthropists like me should hold our peers accountable

TRAINING

  • 081425-How to Secure Capacity-Building Grants_COP_newsletter_Plain.jpg

    Today: August 14 at 2 p.m. ET | Register Now

    Amid so much disruption in the nonprofit world, some funders are rethinking how to get money to the field quickly and effectively by investing in nonprofits’ capacity. Join us for the webinar How to Secure Capacity-Building Grants to learn from two funders who invest in organizational capacity as they explain ways to identify grant makers, craft compelling proposals, and build relationships with nonprofit associations that offer these grants to members.
  • WRK-2025-10-08-MKTG-WRK_v2_NewsletterPlain-600x500 2.jpg

    October 8 at 1 p.m. ET | Register Now

    The nonprofit sector today is under deep strain — the work feels more urgent than ever, and the way forward is anything but simple. Join us for Leading Nonprofits Through the Twists and Turns, an interactive workshop with Melanie Ho, founder of Strategic Imagination. You’ll have a chance to step out of survival mode, explore ways to manage change, and understand how to lead well as complexity becomes the norm.

FORUMS

  • NewsletterPlain-600x500.png

    Today — September 9 at 2 p.m. ET | Register Now

    Join us for the forum Making the Case for Investments in Data to learn from Jacqueline La Gamma of Northwell Health, Lindsey Nadeau of UNICEF USA, and Kristin Richardson of the Colonial Williamsburg Foundation as they share proven ways to persuade leaders to invest in data tools and analysis. They’ll explain how to start out small and build up to bigger budgets over time, and they’ll offer tips on how to demonstrate return on investments.

Help Us Update Our Emergency Funds Tracker

For the past several months, the Chronicle of Philanthropy has been tracking emergency funds. We would like to keep an ongoing list available on our website. Has your organization launched a new fund to respond to recent policy changes, or have you heard of any? Please let us know at editormail@philanthropy.com.

Nonprofit News From Elsewhere Online

A federal judge has temporarily blocked restrictions on government grants that prohibit nonprofits from supporting diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts, programs for immigrants, and people who are transgender. The preliminary ruling comes in a case pursued by a coalition of domestic-violence organizations that objected to rules the Trump administration placed on grants provided by the U.S. Department of Justice’s Office on Violence Against Women. (Boston Globe)

  • Background from the Chronicle: Nonprofits and the Trump Agenda

More Federal Action

  • Humanities Endowment Funds Trump’s Priorities After Ending Old Grants (New York Times)
  • Trump Administration Seeks $1 Billion Settlement From UCLA, a White House Official Says (Associated Press)
  • Opinion: Public Media Is Under Assault. Here’s a Way to Fight Back. (Boston Globe)

Arts

  • After a Young Arts Patron’s Donation Did Not Clear, He Was Found Dead (New York Times)
  • They Have to Step Up’: ‘Gilded Age’ Star Christine Baranski Says the Mega Rich Need to Support the Arts (Boston Globe)

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.

EDITOR'S PICKS

  • A fashionable, modern art collage featuring a female hand holding a one hundred dollar bill enlarged with a magnifying glass. Contemporary design. Authenticity verification of money.
    Fundraising

    Why Your DAF Donor May Not Be Anonymous After All

    By Drew Lindsay
    Charities aren’t getting the information donors want them to have thanks to less-than-clear digital interfaces, mistakes, and confusion in the development office.
  • 12730045
    Careers

    Sabbaticals Strengthen Leaders and Nonprofits: Here’s How to Recharge

    By M.J. Prest
    Five nonprofit heads share insights about their recent sabbaticals. Here are their top tips on how and why to take time to recharge, even during challenging moments — and come back stronger.
  • Book covers and tv streaming thumbnails for a variety of recommendations, on a multicolored background.
    Recommendations

    34 Summer Books, Movies, and Podcasts to Mend America’s Divisions

    By Nandita Raghuram
    Those working to bring America together — advocates, foundation chiefs, experts, and more — recommend fiction, nonfiction, podcasts, plays, movies, and even an Owen Wilson TV show.
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