September 20, 2023 Social Service Funders Must Support LGBTQ+ Nonprofits to Advance Their Missions September 20, 2023/ Dawn Wolfe Dawn Wolfe offers three reasons (actually four) why funders backing direct social services need to include and prioritize LGBTQ+ nonprofits in their portfolios, and why failing to do so may perpetuate harm.Read More
September 18, 2023 Over $83 Million Out the Door in Eighteen Months: An Update on CZI’s Justice Reform Spinoff September 18, 2023/ Dawn Wolfe The Just Trust spun out from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative in 2021 with $350 million to spend on criminal justice reform over five years. It’s seeking to channel the movement’s ideological diversity and bring in new donors.Read More
September 13, 2023 Report: The Nonprofit Hiring Crisis Is Still a Thing September 13, 2023/ Dawn Wolfe The National Council of Nonprofits’ newly updated Nonprofit Workforce Survey makes it clear that across the sector, organizations still can’t hire and retain essential staff. Funding, obviously, is a big part of the problem.Read More
September 01, 2023 What Will It Take to Reach Critical Mass on Nonprofit IT Funding? September 01, 2023/ Dawn Wolfe The pandemic brought home how critical IT needs can be for nonprofits. A new report from the Technology Association of Grantmakers makes a case for more holistic, hands-on funder support.Read More
August 21, 2023 This One-of-a-Kind Nonprofit Collaboration Just Might Upend the Funder-Grantee Power Dynamic August 21, 2023/ Dawn Wolfe Through the Hub ONE collaborative, four Michigan nonprofits are sharing admin and even fundraising functions, helping them save on operating costs, pay a living wage, and begin to address power disparities in funding.Read More
August 09, 2023 This Megadonor’s Attempt to Curtail Ohio Voters’ Rights Is a Symptom of Our Larger Problem August 09, 2023/ Dawn Wolfe An effort in Ohio to raise the vote threshold needed for a state constitutional amendment failed, despite a big push from a wealthy conservative donor. It’s yet another reminder of the inescapable influence of wealthy donors.Read More
August 08, 2023 These Two Philanthropic Initiatives Seek to Save Trans Lives Now and Build Support for the Future August 08, 2023/ Dawn Wolfe Funders for LGBTQ Issues is currently housing two collaborative efforts to support trans communities — one to fund immediate support and another to recruit dedicated allies. Both are drawing some big names. Read More
July 25, 2023 Three Examples of Funders Taking Steps to Better Support Nonprofit Workers July 25, 2023/ Dawn Wolfe Funders have been contributing to the “nonprofit starvation cycle” for decades, but the latest wave of worker dissatisfaction is spurring some to prioritize labor conditions. Here are a few examples, with more to come. Read More
July 24, 2023 This Group of Foundations Has a Message for Peers: Our Racial Justice Work Is Only Getting Started July 24, 2023/ Dawn Wolfe Commitments to racial justice surged after the summer of 2020. Now, amid a cultural, legal and policy backlash, a group of funders is encouraging others to stay the course, and keep pursuing power-sharing practices.Read More
July 17, 2023 Who's Backing Efforts to Halt the Extinction of Indigenous Languages? July 17, 2023/ Dawn Wolfe Languages are disappearing at a rapid clip worldwide, and with them dies unique knowledge and opportunities to heal and strengthen communities. Yet, to date, U.S. philanthropy has been largely absent in this area.Read More
July 07, 2023 Funders for LGBTQ Issues' Latest Tracking Report: Some Good News, More Not So Good July 07, 2023/ Dawn Wolfe While foundations’ LGBTQ funding was still rising as of 2021, it mostly isn’t making it to those in greatest need. That includes Black and trans groups, and those in states where a raft of anti-LGBTQ laws are being passed.Read More
July 06, 2023 How Abortion Rights Funders Have Responded Since Dobbs — and Where They’re Still Falling Short July 06, 2023/ Dawn Wolfe We spoke with 10 national nonprofits on the front lines of the abortion rights struggle to find out how funding has changed since the Dobbs decision, whether donations are trailing off, and what’s still needed from philanthropy. Read More
June 23, 2023 Taking on Infrastructure, Arnold Ventures Seeks to Make a Trillion-Plus Dollars "More Impactful" June 23, 2023/ Dawn Wolfe As massive federal investment flows in, Arnold Ventures is taking aim at America’s “diminished capacity to build cost-effective infrastructure.” That’s a worthy goal, but can Arnold retain an equity focus in its quest to cut red tape?Read More
June 22, 2023 Six Years and $125 Million Later, Art for Justice Takes a Final Bow June 22, 2023/ Dawn Wolfe Agnes Gund’s Art for Justice channeled a large chunk of money toward artists and activists focused on the carceral system. The fund is now winding down, but it made a big impact in a short time.Read More
June 12, 2023 These Fellowships for Latinx Artists Are a Bright Spot Amid Pervasive Underfunding June 12, 2023/ Dawn Wolfe The U.S. Latinx Art Forum administers art fellowships with support from Ford and Mellon. Here’s more on the awards, why the forum uses the term “Latinx,” and the impact of unrestricted support on artists struggling to pay the bills.Read More
June 06, 2023 Violence Against Abortion Clinics Is on the Rise in Sanctuary States. Will Funders Meet the Need? June 06, 2023/ Dawn Wolfe The National Abortion Federation has reported an increase in attacks on clinics and their patients, another barrier for people who already need to travel to access care. NAF is looking to channel more funds toward security.Read More
June 05, 2023 Nonprofit Homeless Response Staff Struggle to Afford Housing. Will Funders Respond? June 05, 2023/ Dawn Wolfe In L.A. and elsewhere, the homeless service sector’s workers are often critically underpaid, and some are at risk of becoming homeless themselves. Part of the problem is funders’ focus on numbers over actual wellbeing.Read More
May 23, 2023 Here's One Easy Way Funders Can Make a Huge Difference in the Lives of Women and Girls May 23, 2023/ Dawn Wolfe It’s Period Poverty Awareness Week, which shines a light on the number of people who can’t afford period supplies or lack education on menstruation. Funding on the topic is scarce, and foundation support would go a long way.Read More
May 16, 2023 Lessons from Across the Pond: How the Living Wage Foundation Is Exporting Its Success to the U.S. May 16, 2023/ Dawn Wolfe This U.K.-based organization has had some success pushing funders to cover living wages for their grantees’ employees — and doing the same for private sector employment. Its new U.S. affiliate is also off to a promising start.Read More
May 10, 2023 In Three Decades’ of Efforts to Fund the True Costs of Nonprofits, Where Are the Workers? May 10, 2023/ Dawn Wolfe The sector has long been grappling with the “nonprofit starvation cycle,” in which organizations are never able to cover the full costs of their work. One key component of the problem has received too little attention — labor.Read More