Leslie Lenkowsky

Recent surveys showing a decrease in volunteering largely blame the pandemic, but the problem isn’t new. Nonprofits need to figure out how to turn Americans’ desire to lend a hand to neighbors into more formal commitments to help their communities.

In 2022, the nonprofit world faced a multitude of problems, including high inflation, a likely decline in giving, and a scandal engulfing a leading proponent of effective altruism. But a report looking at the last 30 years of philanthropy spotlights a resilient and ever-evolving field.

An important but controversial era in public policy ended with last week’s Supreme Court ruling allowing states to outlaw abortion. Philanthropy and nonprofits have played large roles on both sides of the fight over legalized abortion, and they will have even more to do as a new era unfolds.

Despite controversies swirling around donor-advised funds, efforts aimed at speeding money from DAFs are of minimal interest to most fundraisers. On a recent well-attended webinar on managing and using gifts from the funds, the subject didn’t even come up.

As prices soar for gasoline, groceries, and other essential items, donors will have less to give and nonprofits and foundations may be forced to make cuts or look elsewhere for funds to cover higher operating costs. Nonprofit leaders, most of whom have no experience dealing with inflation, should start planning now.

In the course of his life, Powell was a volunteer and mentor to young people of color. Through his nonprofit organization, America’s Promise Alliance, his ideas about how to help children and young people thrive were put into practice on a large scale.

Salamon’s prolific research and writing punctured the myth of nonprofit independence from the fields of government and business but also showed the value of these partnerships in helping those in need.

Independent Sector found a decline in trust of nonprofits, especially philanthropic organizations. But there are likely many factors that account for this finding — not all of them as bad.

At a time when immigration policy battles are taking center stage, some of Miranda’s recent grants are going to nonprofits that help immigrants rise to the middle class — reflecting the values depicted in his new movie “In the Heights.” His approach should be an example for other donors.

We have more knowledge about philanthropy than ever before, but we need to be wary of the limitations of that knowledge and the objectivity behind the data.