Philip Rojc

The Internal Revenue Service is reportedly being retooled to target philanthropy. Here's a look at what’s going on and how we got here.

In their zeal to catalyze entrepreneur-friendly innovations, are the richest donors chasing utopia and passing up the chance to save and improve lives right now?

Funders — and especially grantees — have enough to worry about right now. Whether they're providing cover for public sector retrenchment shouldn’t be high on the list.

In an era of federal retrenchment and exploding private fortunes, old assumptions about what philanthropy can and cannot do are worth revisiting.

“Be water, my friend” was Bruce Lee’s famous maxim for a fight. Funders can apply it to bridging ideological divides.

A lack of philanthropic funding for financial sector oversight is even more glaring as Trump looks to dismantle the watchdog agency.

The end of the year is a time for big fundraising hauls, but it’s also a time for reflection. Here are several troubling trends funders and fundraisers face.

With liberal funders losing the battle against Trumpism — and maybe the battle for democracy — it’s time for the civic sector to face some difficult truths.

As civil society looks to address toxic polarization following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, philanthropy-backed bridge-building efforts have a tough hill to climb.

<p class="">As civil society looks to address toxic polarization following the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump, philanthropy-backed bridge-building efforts have a tough hill to climb.</p>

<p class="">The legendary investor, 93, has confirmed that his $130 billion fortune will go not to the Gates Foundation, but to a charitable trust overseen by his three children. They’ll have full discretion over where it goes from there.</p>

Big numbers aside, Amazon’s expanding affordable housing philanthropy has still been fairly conventional in its approach. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t strategy behind everything the company does.

<p class="">Hidden amid the headline-making philanthropist’s recent $1 billion women’s rights commitment were two regranting recipients whose work revolves around issues facing men. Together, they’re getting $40 million to redistribute.</p>

Let’s reform philanthropy, but not like this. With a flurry of investigations and proposed legislative fixes, Republican lawmakers have the philanthropy establishment rattled — but they’re doing it for all the wrong reasons.

<p class="">Let’s reform philanthropy, but not like this. With a flurry of investigations and proposed legislative fixes, Republican lawmakers have the philanthropy establishment rattled — but they’re doing it for all the wrong reasons.</p>

<p class="">As Republican legislators step up their scrutiny of progressive funding vehicles, we need to be clear that while Tides and its peers may sometimes <em>be</em> the curtain, they’re not the man behind it.</p>

As Republican legislators step up their scrutiny of progressive funding vehicles, we need to be clear that while Tides and its peers may sometimes be the curtain, but they’re not the man behind it.

It was a long time coming. Melinda French Gates’ departure from the gargantuan foundation that bore her name raises big questions, both about the future shape of her giving, and about where the Gates Foundation will stand.

Trying to shift public narratives is a popular strategy for many funders right now. But is it paying off? Here are a few reasons why philanthropy-backed narrative change may be struggling to achieve impact.

<p class="">We’ve seen some high-profile cases lately of philanthropy backing away from big, difficult challenges. At the same time, more are yielding control with trust-based giving practices. But are either of these really all that risky? </p>