Here’s What Else You Need to Know
Nearly 500 philanthropy leaders signed a letter calling on grant makers to increase their support of nonprofits that benefit Asian Americans. The letter was circulated by Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy, which also on Friday released a study noting that only 20 cents of every $100 awarded by foundations went to organizations aiding Asian Americans. “We can’t have a complete racial-equity strategy without including Asian Americans,” Patricia Eng, president of Asian Americans/Pacific Islanders in Philanthropy, told Alex Daniels. “That has been a missing piece for a long time.”
Michael Bloomberg’ $160 million philanthropic campaign against e-cigarette use among kids could do more harm than good. By overstating the dangers of vaping, Bloomberg’s campaign may be falsely convincing some people that there’s not much benefit from switching from smoking to vaping, writes Marc Gunther. “Michael Bloomberg has done great things for public health,” says Kenneth Warner, a researcher and longtime warrior against tobacco use. “But he is way off base on this.” The debate is not just about health but about social justice, Gunther notes. Much of the outcry about vaping has come from well-educated and well-connected parents who want to protect their kids, while the smokers who might benefit from switching to e-cigarettes tend to be poor, less educated, and people of color. And finding reliable data to decide what’s best is hard for philanthropists and nonprofits because scientists don’t agree on what the research shows. “We are neck-deep in intractable, internecine warfare,” says Cliff Douglas, former vice president for tobacco control at the American Cancer Society. “Like so much of our discourse these days, the debate has become polarized.”
Foundation assets have grown so fast in the pandemic year that grant makers can afford to give a lot more to bring about the recovery needed amid cascading crises, write Aaron Dorfman of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy and Ellen Dorsey of the Wallace Global Fund. They argue that foundations could distribute 10 percent in 2021 and beyond without jeopardizing their endowments. “Committing to give more in 2021 as the world recovers would do more than serve society well,” they write. “It would offer a key signal to critics and skeptics that philanthropy is putting its money where its mouth is.” Another push for greater giving comes from Craig Kennedy and William Schambra, two former foundation officials, who say conservatives are making a mistake in opposing a plan to force foundations and donor-advised funds to give more. “Rather than resist modest changes to the tax code,” they write, “conservatives should see them as the first step toward retooling a philanthropic world that has become too politicized and self-interested.”
And as you start your weekend reading, you might want to head to Lisa Pilar Cowan’s reflections on the past year as a grant maker trying to figure out how to navigate trying times. “The thing that made me feel best in reading through the year that felt like a decade was rediscovering a quote from Lateefah Simon, president of the Akonadi Foundation who wrote to a group of colleagues: ‘The heartbeat of change is beating. How cool is it that we all get to be of service in this moment.’”
It is cool, says Cowan. We hope it is for you, too.
— Stacy Palmer and Dan Parks
