Philanthropy Magazine Archives
Back Issues
Gifts of Health
For generations, deadly epidemics were a regular occurrence in America. The disease feared perhaps more than any other was yellow fever. Every few years, outbreaks would explode across seaboard regions, killing…
President’s Note: What Lies Ahead
For the last three decades, The Philanthropy Roundtable has provided thought-provoking content through our quarterly magazine, Philanthropy. Like you, I read the pages with great interest, and the stories inspired my…
President’s Note: Hope Through Philanthropy
It’s a true honor to join The Philanthropy Roundtable as president. This year has been a challenging and deeply painful one for our country and our world. In the midst of a…
Thank You for the Privilege of Serving You
I am filled with gratitude as I prepare to step down as president of The Philanthropy Roundtable after nearly 19 years in the position. I am thankful for the extraordinary…
Outsmarting Albert Barnes
Editor’s Note: In December 2022, Philanthropy Roundtable released a short film, “Donor Intent Gone Wrong: The Battle for Control of the Barnes Art Collection,” that explores Albert Barnes’s story and…
Universities and Identity Politics
Are college campuses training young Americans in balkanization and grievance politics—and thus functioning as the fountainheads of national division? Philanthropy asked experts and donors. Here’s what they said. Peter Wood President, National Association…
Art Becomes Orthodox
Last fall a colleague came into my office with a story. She had spoken with the artistic director of an American symphony known for its interest in forgotten works and…
Saving Free Speech
This summer—just as saying something controversial (or not saying something mandatory) got numerous charitable leaders excoriated, several academic leaders dumped, a host of editors and writers ousted, and articles and…
Addressing Health-Care Worker Burnout
Forty-four percent of the U.S. working population of doctors were experiencing burnout in 2017, according to the latest numbers from a national, longitudinal, triennial study. The consequences of this are…
The Great Distance-Learning Experiment
With almost no warning this spring, America’s schools closed, and more than 56 million children became part of a giant remote-learning trial. In-person instruction, over-the-shoulder help, team projects, guided lessons…
The Long and the Short of Emergency Cash Grants
The soothsayer warned us: Beware the Ides of March. As February reached its end, U.S. unemployment sat at 3.5 percent—you’d have to go back to 1953 to find a lower rate—and…
Two Titans, Two Temples
No city on earth is more richly supplied with museums, libraries, concert halls, and other cultural amenities than New York. And unlike other global cities, most of New York’s treasures come…
Anti-Radical
Mohammed Hassan Khalid was 15 years old when he was arrested and charged with terrorism. At the time he lived in Howard County, Maryland, with his family. He had been…
National Security Philanthropy
The ancient nation of Georgia huddles right where Europe, Asia, and the Middle East grind together in rocky snowclad peaks. For millennia, the mountainous terrain protected its people, allowing a…
Interview with Maajid Nawaz
Maajid Nawaz is an advocate for democracy and justice, especially in Muslim communities in the West. A former Islamist who spent years in prison, he now speaks and writes in…
Interview with Nadine Strossen
Nadine Strossen is no stranger to controversy. For 18 years she served as president of the American Civil Liberties Union, and now lectures at law schools on the Constitution and…
Interview: Putting a Panic Into Perspective
To make sense of our unprecedented situation, Philanthropy interviewed a range of experts—doctors, governors, economists, funders, entrepreneurs—to get their perspectives on the covid-19 panic. What follows is a sampling of edited…
Interview with Nadia Schadlow
For 20 years, Nadia Schadlow was a program officer at the Smith Richardson Foundation, a leading funder of national-security philanthropy. Over the years the foundation, with $726 million in assets, has supported…
Interview with John Bernbaum
In 1990, higher-education administrator John Bernbaum received a surprising request from the Russian government: Would he consider starting a Christian liberal-arts college in Moscow? Five years later, the Russian American Christian University…
Protecting Your Legacy
An outsized role in elevating the education available to African-American children was filled by a private donor named Julius Rosenwald. He started his career in New York City’s garment industry making…
Enemies of Innovation
The acclaimed economist and public intellectual Thomas Sowell has penned a short but forceful defense of charter schooling. The first two chapters (and 60 pages of data in the appendix!) make…
Books: Curing Decadence
As a professional opinion slinger, Ross Douthat is an ambidextrous wonder. He can take an “idealet”—a word coined by master newspaper columnist Charles Krauthammer—and deftly spin it into a weekly squib of…
Books: Givers Can Do Better
At a conference last fall I had a leisurely conversation with Kris Putnam-Walkerly about her upcoming book, Delusional Altruism—an exchange that resulted in her quoting me on the importance of shared values…
Michael Bloomberg as a Fixer
A spectrum of contemporary political styles was expressed in the 2012 Republican Presidential primary run. Newt Gingrich came in fourth with his “Rome wasn’t burned in a day” 1990s nostalgia…
Smashing Culture
In addition to destroying images of dead Confederates, protestors this summer toppled a bust of George Washington in D.C., tore down sculptures of Washington and Thomas Jefferson in Portland, and tried…
The Exchange
MicroschoolingDonor leadership on covid-19Ideas on race, policing, crimeBlack female millionaire donorHeterodoxy growsRBG and donor intentSmashing culture AS A NEW SCHOOL YEAR opened with pandemic still in the air, families across the…
The Exchange
Philanthropy freedom fighterThe Nation and Bill GatesDonor privacy winsBe little and freeCommunity college golden hourHomeschooling, payout rates, and suffrageClosing Catholic schoolsAnd silver linings Please join us in offering a hearty welcome…
A Golden Hour for Community Colleges
The vast majority of media coverage of higher ed focuses on four-year, residential colleges. As the re-opening debate unfolds this summer and fall, you’ll hear lots of chatter about the fancy-pants…
Clarence Thomas Speaks
When Michael Pack heard that Clarence Thomas was tired of his narrative “being told by his enemies,” the producer decided to make a documentary about him. In Created Equal: Clarence Thomas…
Treat Veterans as Resources, Not Recipients
Many veterans are well-equipped to take leadership roles in American society. FedEx and Walmart were founded by veterans. Political philosopher John Rawls was a veteran. Clint Eastwood, Paul Newman, Jimmy…
The Exchange
IDEA Public Schools Seeking civic literacyThe Business of GivingThe war on philanthropyWild and wonderfulAnonymous givingThe Eli and Edythe Broad FoundationHillsdale College preserves donor intentCondoleezza RiceTax-exempt churchesClarence Thomas speaksWhere professors donate IDEA…
No Giver Is Safe
In our current socialist moment, a veritable race is underway among journalists, academics, and politicians on the Left to outdo each other in thundering against business enterprise and personal wealth—and the private charitable…
Charity as a Good Virus
It was when I received an e-mail from the little Bavarian village of Oberammergau that I knew the Wuhan coronavirus had stirred up a hurricane. In 1632, the bubonic plague descended…
Mini-Mouse vs. Megalodon
This issue of Philanthropy magazine is an extended look at little versus big, at aid versus arm-twisting, at inspiration versus intimidation. It asks whether lots of helpful little mice can fend off…
Philanthropists Against Social Distancing
Like other seaport cities in the early decades of American independence, Philadelphia was hit during many summers with waves of yellow fever. In those days no one had any idea…
Philanthropy is Rocket Science
A 15-year-old boy opens a newspaper and starts reading a science-fiction story about travel between Mars and Earth. The next thing you know, he’s spending all his time thinking about…
Road Trip
America’s #1 Research Hospital Massachusetts General • Boston, Massachusetts The charitable hospital is one of the great achievements of American philanthropy. Traditionally, people who had money were treated at home for all…
Daniel C. Searle
Dan Searle was one of the earliest donors to join The Philanthropy Roundtable after it was established as an independent organization in 1991. He never gave more than the minimum…
Steering Through a Storm
Well before Hurricane Harvey reached Houston in August 2017, it hurtled through Aransas County, Texas. The small coastal region endured 130-mile-per-hour winds, the strongest hurricane landfall winds to hit the…
Who Left the Dogs Out?
When Leona Helmsley died, it wasn’t exactly a national day of mourning. The billionaire real estate mogul was known as the “Queen of Mean,” and was often depicted as a…
Bringing Civic Education Back to Campus
During his lifetime, George Washington was, among other things, the nation’s single largest benefactor of higher education. Three years before he died, Washington made a major contribution to the Augusta…
Toward a Philosophy of Philanthropy
Frank Hanna believes that “unexamined wealth is not worth having.” It’s a radical proposal, in every sense of the word. What Your Money Means (And How To Use It Well)by…
A Note from Philanthropy Magazine’s First Editor
The Philanthropy Roundtable’s origin goes back to the late 1980s, when a group of liberty-minded foundations split off from the Council on Foundations rather than sign on to a statement…
As We Say Goodbye to Print, We Look Forward to Philanthropy’s Digital Future
For three decades, Philanthropy magazine has played a critical role in the philanthropic sector. It has offered a unique perspective, highlighted important information and shared fascinating stories about donors and…
The Evaluation Wars
Am I doing good by giving this money away?” is a question everyone in philanthropy should ask regularly. It is hard for funders to do good; it is all too…
A Federalist Solution
Three years ago, a group of center-right academics and policy leaders gathered at Princeton University to discuss defense policy and foreign affairs. One presidential administration was coming to an end,…
Fixing Child Protection
IN THE PAST 30 YEARS, MAJOR PROGRESS HAS been made in combating child abuse. In 1963, only about 150,000 children were reported to the authorities because of suspected abuse or…
Face of Charity
SINCE THE TRAGIC DEATH LAST AUGUST OF Diana, Princess of Wales, charities around the world have been appealing to the public in her name. The official Memorial Fund — established…
The Insider’s Guide to Spend Down
Someone once jokingly referred to foundations as a pile of money surrounded by people seeking to spend it. There is a grain of truth in this comment, but philanthropists and…
Howard Fuller Has Hope for the Next Generation of Education Reformers
An early and vocal charter school advocate, Howard Fuller served as the superintendent of Milwaukee Public Schools from 1991-1995. Most recently, he was a professor of education at Marquette University, a position from…
How a New Fund Helps Parents Teach Their Children
When LaTasha Adams brought her toddler to the playground one day, the two of them began chatting in full sentences. Another parent was shocked—wasn’t her daughter just a couple of…
Good News for Religious Giving
Most donors say the pandemic won’t stop them from giving to religious causes, and some of them will even step up their giving. According to a survey of donors by…
The Ones Who Know How To Save
As a child, Oseola McCarty would come home from elementary school and iron clothes, stashing the money she earned in her doll buggy. McCarty was raised in Hattiesburg by her grandmother and…
Replacing Violence with Community
Thirty years ago, when Father Greg Boyle was a pastor of Dolores Mission Church in Boyle Heights, he became troubled by the prevalence of gang violence in his Los Angeles…
The Carnegie Corporation Turns 100
A century has passed since Carnegie founded the Carnegie Corporation of New York. What would its founder think of it today? In 1889, in the first of two essays that…
Battling Poverty With Family Support and Economic Incentives
Mauricio Miller’s bio states that more than two decades of working in social services left him “disenchanted with the social sector’s approach to fighting poverty” and wanting to try something…
Philanthropists Helping America Restart
While many donors have turned toward humanitarian efforts to ease the impact of the coronavirus pandemic—think donations to food banks and hospitals—some are looking at a different sort of humanitarian…
A Record for Catholic-school Scholarships
In September 2015, the Inner-city Scholarship Fund run by the Archdiocese of New York announced the largest-ever U.S. gift to Catholic schooling. Christine and Stephen Schwarzman gave a record $40 million…
Laying the Intellectual Foundation for Racial Equality
In 1935, the board of the Carnegie Corporation expressed interest in “Negro problems” in the United States, and the extent to which they could be reduced through education. This led to…
Private Donations and National Defense
One of the last places you might expect to see American philanthropy in action is in supporting U.S. service members as they do their jobs overseas. An unusual and highly effective charity…
Ignorance, Anarchy, Even Dissolution
Philanthropy recently spoke with Jonathan Greenberg of the Jack Miller Family Foundation about mobs tearing down statues, how donors can fund civics education, and the importance of teaching history to…
A Victory for School Choice
The Supreme Court just delivered a victory for school choice, but only time will tell how much it will affect students across the U.S. At the end of June, the high court ruled…
Guides to Schooling Options for Fall 2020
During this period of COVID-19 disruption, many families are determining the best school option for their children this fall. To help families navigate their options, National School Choice Week published these comprehensive…
Teaching America’s Founding Principles
The Jack Miller Center for Teaching America’s Founding Principles and History was a response to the low level of civics knowledge among American undergraduates. Created in 2007, the center identifies academics…
J. P. Morgan: A Patron of the Arts
John Pierpont Morgan is remembered as a beefy, red-faced bully, fierce and lonely, possessed of small ideas and consumed by enormous greed. All of this is deeply unfair to Morgan.…
Americans Extraordinary Response in Time of Crisis: Giving
As our economy and social life shut down this spring, there was one part of American society that kicked into a higher rather than lower gear—philanthropy. Despite lockdowns, layoffs, stock-market collapses,…
Inventing Online Learning
So-called “distance learning” has been available to disciplined students for generations, with instruction and degrees available by mail, television, even radio. The Internet, though, opened yawning opportunities for new forms of…
Strengthening Catholic Schools
While more than 50 Catholic schools have been forced to close their doors in the last few months, in part because of the coronavirus, two in Cleveland are poised to…
Benjamin Rush: An Early American Medical Marvel
The most prominent defender of the public during America’s first viral panic—the 1793 yellow fever outbreak—was a physician and philanthropist named Benjamin Rush. Rush completed his medical training in Europe…
Great Gifts of Health From U.S. Donors
For generations, deadly epidemics were a regular occurrence in America. The disease feared perhaps more than any other was yellow fever. Every few years, outbreaks would explode across seaboard regions, killing…
Boosts for Small Business
Last month, Philanthropy Roundtable director of economic opportunity Tony Mayer hosted a webinar reviewing local philanthropic measures to help small businesses stay afloat during the economic distress associated with covid-19. He…
The State of Charitable Giving
Philanthropic giving in the U.S. shot upward last year. In fact, it rose to its second highest level ever recorded, with donations from individuals, bequests, foundations, and corporations reaching $449.6…
Americans Trust Nonprofits More Than Government
After comparing nonprofit and the government responses to our current national health crisis, a majority of Americans agree that nonprofits are more trustworthy. In a survey of 350 Americans from…
Civics Reinforcement
It all started when John Nau was eight years old and his family visited a Civil War battlefield in Kentucky. Walking the contested land created a yearning in the boy, and…
A New Way for Churches to Serve Hospitals
There are 124 hospitals in the state of Arizona, and more than 1,000 churches. During the coronavirus pandemic, a new charitable effort was launched to connect them. Through the Care…
Restaurant Workers Feed the Hungry
The covid-19 crisis created numerous problems in the food sector. Food banks were taxed as millions of families sought assistance. Meanwhile many of their volunteers were unable to help out as…
Jailing Efficiently and Less Often
As police reform moves into the national spotlight, philanthropists have plenty of opportunities to improve the justice system, an issue donors have been working on for decades. One of these efforts, “2015: Jailing Efficiently—And…
Organizing Small Donors in Support of Local Reporting
Media companies from Condé Nast to BuzzFeed are laying off employees by the hundreds during the covid-19 crisis. Yet the Long Beach Post, a regional news website with 20 employees, just…
Keeping Covid Philanthropy Local
Leo Linbeck, a Houston businessman and CEO of Aquinas Companies, spoke with Philanthropy about how his hometown is weathering the coronavirus, what the pandemic means for education, and why fear shouldn’t drive decision-making.Philanthropy:…
Artist Relief
Shan Wallace, a 29-year-old photographer who documents the lives of Baltimore natives like herself, creates her art by forming connections with strangers. She refers to the resulting images of city…
Blood and Generosity
“You have to be relentless,” David Rubenstein told him. Christopher Ullman was trying to raise money for an inner-city Christian school, so he went to his boss at the Carlyle…
Richard Gilder: Patron of Parks, History, and Problem-solving
If you’ve enjoyed a visit to Central Park within the last 40 years—or to any of hundreds of other urban oases across America that have bloomed under innovative new management in what…
Helping the Churches That Help Others
The CEO of a charity focused on poverty alleviation and spiritual formation, Joshua Crossman of the Pinetops Foundation, says the coronavirus emergency is putting serious strain on churches in low-income areas. These…
Interview with Steve Moore
Philanthropy: Funders seem to be responding to the coronavirus crisis in different ways depending on their regional context. Moore: A theme in the Almanac of American Philanthropy is how crucial diversity is: Diversity of…
Charitable Nuts and Bolts During Covid
Philanthropy: Tell us about your organization. Eric D. Fingerhut: There are 146 Jewish federations across the U.S. that raise funds and distribute them to different Jewish communal organizations that are in our…
A Star Medical Researcher Looks at the Coronavirus
Philanthropy: How is the coronavirus affecting your work at the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine in North Carolina? Tony Atala: I do both research and clinical medicine. I’m still at the hospital,…
Better Than Fiction
An orphaned child of slaves, who grew up to be a business tycoon and generous donor—the first female self-made millionaire in history, according to the Guinness Book of World Records—is a good subject for…
Interview with Bernie Marcus
Bernie Marcus is the co-founder of Home Depot and a prolific philanthropist. Now at age 90, he’s still active in public policy and economic development. He spoke with Philanthropy about…
An Educational Partnership
Nationwide school closures have sparked a debate among private and Catholic schools: what should be done about tuition? Should families still pay, even if students don’t enter a school building…
Local Solution for a National Problem
In April, the CDC recommended Americans wear face coverings in public. In some areas, stores won’t let you inside unless you wear a mask. The existing shortage of masks thus became a bigger…
Interview with Carl Schramm
When health bureaucrats take the wheel, other vital social goods get ignored, warns Carl Schramm—a specialist in the field, and former president of the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation. Philanthropy: As an…
A Long View on the Coronavirus Problem
Philanthropy: You’ve studied the history of pandemics, and worked closely with Dr. Fauci to create a national system for handling pandemics while you were Secretary of Health and Human Services in…
Handling Domestic Violence During a Pandemic
No social sphere is untouched by the coronavirus pandemic. Charities that cope with domestic abuse, however, face some special challenges. It seems intuitive that the stresses of a lockdown could be an impetus…
Rapid Response
Across the nation, shortages of personal protective equipment have been a serious constraint on health-care workers during the early days of the coronavirus emergency. There aren’t enough N95 masks for…
Interview with Sheryl Sandberg
Sheryl Sandberg is the COO of Facebook, a prominent commentator, and chair of the Sheryl Sandberg & Dave Goldberg Family Foundation. But like everyone else, she needed to make a…
Serving San Antonio
Say you need your car to pick up groceries, but you also need an oil change and don’t want to sit at the shop for half an hour and risk exposure to the virus.…
Good Samaritans in the Big Apple
Scattered throughout the East Meadow in Central Park, 14 white tents remind passersby that this is no ordinary time. This corner of Central Park, normally marked by joggers and picnicking…
Veterans as Community Leaders
We need to respond to the novel coronavirus with the cool-headed rigor of a military operation. That was the advice offered by the head of Team Rubicon to 50 donors who joined a…
Online Resources and Programs for Civic Education
Many providers listed in the Roundtable’s briefing on High-Impact Civic Education offer high-quality online resources. Several others have launched new offerings or have curated their materials for online use. Please alert…