Economic development and entrepreneurship are on the forefront of many funders’ minds these days as they seek to catalyze urban growth. But some foundations are taking these goals to a whole new level to give their hometowns a boost.
Read MoreThe SunTrust Foundation, based in Atlanta, launched its Lighting the Way awards program in 2016 to recognize nonprofits in its market areas building financial confidence in their communities. Where are grants going?
Read MoreHuman service organizations don’t just apply Band-Aids to social problems. They also can drive larger change and help struggling Americans climb up the economic ladder. Or at least that’s the idea behind a Kresge Foundation initiative now in its second year.
Read MoreMore anti-poverty funders are looking beyond major cities to struggling rural communities. The latest example of grantmakers casting a wider net is the Communities Thrive Challenge, from the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative and Rockefeller Foundation.
Read MoreLast month after a contentious campaign, San Francisoc voters approved a ballot measure to tax the city’s richest companies to help the homeless. Now one of the measure’s biggest supporters is putting millions of his own money where his mouth is.
Read MorePhilanthropy’s support of veterans causes has been spotty, even as the needs of veterans have grown. So it’s a big deal that Craigslist founder Craig Newmark has emerged as a major new giver in this space.
Read MoreFor all the talk of a golden age of philanthropy, the rich are piling up new wealth much faster than they’re giving it away. Most give mere crumbs compared to their net worth. The Bridgespan Group is looking to change that.
Read MoreDetroit has become a test case for philanthropy’s growing push against urban poverty. We look at how the latest philanthropists on the scene, Steve and Connie Ballmer, are approaching the city’s entrenched challenges.
Read MoreOhio helped swing the 2016 election to Donald Trump, and the GOP controls both the governorship and state legislature there. But the Gordon Gund Foundation keeps working against the tide to advance a progressive agenda.
Read MoreLumina has set an ambitious goal to increase the proportion of adults with post-secondary degrees and certifications to 60 percent by 2025. That number hovered around 47 percent as recently as 2016. Here’s the latest effort to move the needle.
Read MoreMany of the workforce development groups drawing funder support engage in matchmaking to hook up employers and jobseekers. JPMorgan Chase is backing such an effort in the South Bronx, with a focus on placing youth in unfilled IT jobs.
Read MoreWells Fargo is the latest bank to make a big bet on urban community development, with a focus on Washington, D.C. The move comes amid multiple scandals around the bank, which badly needs some good publicity.
Read MoreBOK Financial’s Learning for Life program is an exemplar of the popularity of financial literacy among financial services funders. We also check out its other giving and community involvement in its seven banking divisions.
Read MoreFunders often balk at supporting hard-hitting worker advocacy organizations like Restaurant Opportunities Centers United. But some foundations have swung strongly behind efforts to boost low-wage workers.
Read MoreSince its launch in 2016, Blue Meridian Partners has emerged as a powerhouse vehicle for new giving by some of America’s wealthiest philanthropists. Now the collaborative created by the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation is becoming an independent nonprofit.
Read MoreEven as the economy surges, millions of workers are trapped in dead end jobs while openings for more skilled positions go unfilled. The Markle Foundation’s effort to help close that heartbreaking chasm is gaining momentum.
Read MoreThe Surdna Foundation is known for being a trailblazer among progressive foundations. But how does that role play out in terms of where grants actually go? Here’s a quick peak.
Read MoreA growing range of foundations is giving to build housing for the homeless, looking for a more permanent solution to a chronic problem. Here’s the latest example of how these capital projects come together.
Read MoreWalmart and its foundation recently gave $4 million to organizations that train workers for better jobs. As America’s biggest private employer, though, the company’s real power to expand mobility lies in improving its own labor practices.
Read MoreIn the wake of the Kavanaugh confirmation fight, we’re republising a piece from June on how both foundations and major donors on all sides have sought to influence Supreme Court rulings over many decades.
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