Philanthropy Today

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From senior editor Drew Lindsay: Direct mail, in its early days, felt like a democratizing force — “a way to reach ordinary people, invite them into causes, and build broad-based support,” writes fundraising consultant Jason Lewis this week in The Commons. Decades later, however, the opposite is true, he says. Direct mail and its many digital descendants have put nonprofit supporters on the sideline and rewired organizations for the worse.

“Instead of building relationships, organizations collected addresses,” Lewis writes. “Instead of organizing members, they segmented audiences. The mailing list replaced the meeting hall. Participation became a product: a compelling story, a crisp ask, a promised outcome.”

Read his essay, which includes recommendations for fundraisers that aim to put supporters back at the center of nonprofit work and “ask them to lead, not just give.”

Plus, major funders and nonprofits unite behind the Courage Project and a new award for “civic bravery.”

In many of Barbara Kingsolver’s novels, characters who are very different from one another are thrown together, forced to interact, and maybe even form tight bonds. In her most recent, the Pulitzer Prize-winning Demon Copperhead, Kingsolver exposes readers to the diversity of people and experiences within Appalachia, a region often flattened into superficial portrayals that fuel what she describes as “urban-rural antipathy.” Through the novel, readers from the region can see themselves depicted in a more nuanced way, while outsiders can gain insights into an overlooked part of the country.

Join Chronicle of Philanthropy deputy editor Nandita Raghuram on Tuesday, June 3, at 11:30 a.m. ET for a conversation with Kingsolver on the ways fiction can tell the stories of people and places that politicians, pundits, and the public often ignore. And she’ll share a bit about her own philanthropy, including Higher Ground, a home she and her husband established for women recovering from addiction.

Register here for this free event.

The Pew Research Center has published a range of its research on whether Americans trust institutions, political parties, and each other.

34 percent
Share of Americans who say “most people can be trusted” — down from 46 percent in 1972. Black people (21 percent) and Hispanic Americans (23 percent) have lower levels of trust than white people (40 percent) and Asian Americans (38 percent).

74 percent
Share of Americans who give to charity of those who believe “most people can be trusted.” Among those who say “most people cannot be trusted,” only 60 percent give to charity.

85 percent
Share of Americans who believe their elected representatives don’t know or care about what they think.

62 percent
Share of Republicans who view Democrats unfavorably — up from 21 percent in 1994.

54 percent
Share of Democrats who view Republicans unfavorably — up from 17 percent in 1994.