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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 21, 2025
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From: Philanthropy Today

Subject: Why Rich Donors Are Holding Back — for Now

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  • 1454087695
    Major Gifts

    Why Big Gifts Dropped in 2025 and Will Soon Rise

    By Maria Di Mento August 21, 2025
    Tax-code changes and other political and economic forces are causing some ultra-wealthy donors to wait until the end of the year or to give quietly.
  • 2156541156
    Opinion

    Philanthropy’s Road Forward: 6 Takeaways From Traveling the U.S. in Precarious Times

    By Dimple Abichandani August 21, 2025
    Over seven weeks, 22 book tour events, and discussions with thousands of funders, the message was clear: the structures of the past are damaging the sector and must change.
  • Stephanie Cornell, executive director of the Walton Family Foundation
    Executive Leadership

    Walton Family Foundation Loses Fourth Leader Since 2016

    By Alex Daniels August 21, 2025
    Stephanie Cornell will step down as executive director of the $7 billion Walton Family Foundation, the philanthropy Walmart built.

TRAINING

  • 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.

Nonprofit News From Elsewhere Online

President Trump said he wants to expand his campaign against “woke” exhibitions in the Smithsonian to include museums across the country. In a social media post, the president said he has told staff to scrutinize museums in the same way the administration has pressured colleges and universities to change their cultures and management practices. Some museums, including the Japanese American National Museum in Los Angeles, have pushed back, and it’s not clear how the administration could force changes at institutions outside the Smithsonian. (Los Angeles Times)

More on Trump and Museums

  • Trump Says Smithsonian Focuses Too Much on ‘How Bad Slavery Was’ (New York Times)
  • How Much Sway Does the President Have Over the Country’s Museums? (NPR)
    • Background from the Chronicle: Nonprofits and the Trump Agenda

More News and Opinion

  • Justice Department Restores Grants to Volunteer Charity for Foster Kids, After Group Rolls Back DEI Discussions (Imprint)
    • Background from the Chronicle: First, the Vera Institute of Justice Lost Its Federal Grants. Then DOGE Called
  • ‘It’s More Than Food’: Amid Federal Cuts, Mich. Nonprofit Scaling Back Nutrition Education Program for Kids (WOOD)
  • Opinion: Free Cash to Poor Families Isn’t Helping the Kids (Boston Globe)

Wealthy Donors

  • Watch Melinda French Gates’s Full Interview About the Future of Global Health and Philanthropy (Fortune via YouTube)
    • Background from the Chronicle: Melinda French Gates Is Just Getting Started
  • Virginia Wesleyan University to Be Renamed Batten University After Longtime Benefactor (Washington Post)
    • Background from the Chronicle: A Legacy of Sackler: Let’s Reconsider Philanthropic Naming Rights (Opinion)

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

  • Scarlet, a virtual engagement officer developed by Givzey, appears on screen in a fundraising message from Illinois Institute of Technology in Chicago on Aug. 13, 2025. The AI-powered avatar engages prospective donors through personalized communication.
    Artificial Intelligence

    Can AI Raise Money and Not Replace Humans? 8 Lessons So Far

    By Rasheeda Childress
    An AI-driven fundraising avatar helped bring in $2 million across 50 institutions in less than a year.
  • Leslie Cornfeld, left, founder of the National Education Equity Lab
    Case Study

    Low Costs, Organic Growth, Repeat Gifts From Philanthropy: How This Nonprofit Is Scaling

    By Tamara Straus
    The National Education Equity Lab has developed a powerful model to help lower income students get into selective colleges, succeeding where billion-dollar philanthropic experiments in education have failed.
  • People fill their plates during The Longest Table event hosted by Village Square in Tallahassee, Fla. on October 27, 2019.
    Community

    Newfangled Ways to Spark Old-Style Civic Life: 4 Groups Show the Way

    By Mark Toner
    These four organizations aim to create the modern-day version of the community group that once bound Americans together. Among their tools: investigative journalism, a bouncy house, and a neighborhood digital platform without Nextdoor’s drama.
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