Gara LaMarche

Philanthropy needs to emerge from its defensive crouch and unleash a bold and creative response to DEI attacks.

An academic treatise first published 25 years ago has propelled a long-overdue reckoning with racial injustice in this country. Critical Race Theory’s journey offers lessons for grant makers on the importance of patience when it comes to changing social narratives.

Conservative grant makers have done an outstanding job of training their leaders. Now progressive funds need to do the same — and put the focus on what activists of all generations need most.

McCormack, who died in December at 98, was an adviser to the Rockefeller family and served as a trustee of many big foundations and nonprofits. She was one of the first women to have so much power over the distribution of big money, writes Gara LaMarche, her friend and a former president of Atlantic Philanthropies, on whose board she served.

The coronavirus and the likely economic aftershocks mean it’s more important than ever to power the advocacy groups that can press for systemic change. Here’s what foundations can do now.

At a time of profound challenges to our democracy, grant makers must spend generously and be strong advocates for the vulnerable, writes Gara LaMarche, former leader of the Atlantic Philanthropies and the Open Society Institute.

It’s hypocritical for organizations committed to social justice to complain about paying workers decent wages.

Many of the goals grant makers seek to advance could be reached if 11 million people in the country illegally were no longer forced to live in the shadows.

Groups that push for change aren’t nearly so assertive in dealing with philanthropy, but some fresh new ideas could point the way to sustainability.

Supporting the organizations that provide accurate information and curb the undue influence of money in politics are essential for foundations of all ideological stripes.