Philanthropy Today

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From senior editor Drew Lindsay: How can philanthropy advance change in our age of division? Yesterday, we kicked off our new interview series, The Commons in Conversation, to explore that question — and potential answers — with nonprofit and philanthropy leaders.

In this first episode, Chronicle of Philanthropy CEO Stacy Palmer and I talked about our upcoming guests — including an Emmy award-winning screenwriter — as well as fall stories in The Commons that will examine philanthropy and politics from new angles.

You can find a recording of our conversation on the Chronicle’s YouTube page.

And … we invite you to join us Wednesday, September 4, at 2 p.m. ET for a conversation with our first guest, philanthropist Laura Arnold, co-founder and co-chair of Arnold Ventures. Stacy and Laura will talk about efforts to reduce partisanship as the 2024 election promises to impact a wide range of policies.

The event is free, but register here for reminders.

News and other noteworthy items:

• Inside Higher Education’s Jessica Blake and Kathryn Palmer look at colleges emphasizing civil discourse and civic engagement to help manage tensions over the Israel-Hamas war.
  
• John Paul Lederach, author of The Pocket Guide for Facing Down a Civil War, writes in the Washington Post about new research that shows Americans greatly overestimate the willingness of their political opponents to use violence. “That means we have a rare opportunity to de-escalate.”
  
• Christa Case Bryant of the Christian Science Monitor writes about how an NPR station in central Pennsylvania is trying to win “an ideologically diverse range of listeners through in-person events, on-air conversations, and a weekly newsletter that pulls back the curtain on their work.”