Foundations

On Thursday, Bill Clinton announced major changes to the Clinton Foundation if Hillary is elected President in November. No more donations from foreign governments or corporations. Refocused efforts. Bill's resignation from the board. But is it enough? The Boston Globe, in an editorial published Tuesday, made a compelling case for a full-on Clinton Foundation shutdown...

Leonardo DiCaprio is known for many things—his acting, his philanthropy, his unbridled love for Girl Scout cookies. But now, the actor might be in a bit of trouble over one of them, and it's not the Thin Mints. According to a lengthy piece in The Hollywood Reporter, the U.S. Department of Justice named DiCaprio twice…

At an estimated net worth of $66 billion, Warren Buffett is one of the planet's richest humans. He's also one of the most generous. Forbes puts his lifetime giving at $22.7 billion, 37 percent of his net worth. And now, Buffett is looking for people to help him spend his billions. Or, rather, his sister is. Doris Buffett, 88, heads up Sunshine Lady Foundation, responsible for sorting through thousands of letters asking Warren for financial assistance...

If you have been trained correctly as a development professional you are taught to be donor-centered, provide outstanding customer-service and essentially strive to say “yes” to donors. I mean, just about every blog post that Richard and I write emphasizes in some way how to best serve your donors. We say it over and over again because, as industry professionals, you still don’t have putting donors first ingrained enough in your DNA. You’re getting better, but we still have work to do.

Figuring out which foundations engage in the most impact investing is not so easy. While some reports, like a 2015 study by the Center for Effective Philanthropy, have gauged how widespread this practice has become in foundations, actual dollar amounts are still hard to come by—unlike annual grantmaking tallies, which are readily available. That's too…

A mega-grant from a mega-foundation always seems like the answer to your prayers, right? Not quite. The truth is, foundation giving plays a smaller role than you probably think. In fact, in terms of the entire philanthropic pie, foundation funding accounts for a mere 16 percent...

The world stood still when news of pop icon Prince’s death began to flood the headlines on April 21, 2016. Months later, Prince is still making news, but now for something entirely different. Rumor has it that Prince may have donated $34 million to the San Francisco Foundation, a major local force in racial and…

The increasing trend toward globalization over the last 30 years has changed the way American interests do business. As America’s preeminent companies find themselves competing for markets and influence outside the U.S., the targets of their philanthropic efforts have also shifted...

Microsoft co-founder Bill Gates wants Africa's next generation of tech entrepreneurs to build a brighter future for their nations, so his philanthropic foundation will donate another $5 billion during the next five years to help sustain economic progress, including against diseases like AIDS, Zika and malaria. Gates made the announcement on Sunday during the annual…

Another summer, another hefty charitable donation from Warren Buffett. He once again beat his previous record, donating more than $2.86 billion worth of Berkshire Hathaway stock to a handful of charities on Wednesday. The gifts top the $2.84 billion he gave last July, which had bested the $2.8 billion he gave in 2014. According to an…