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From: Philanthropy Today
Subject: A Liberal Donor Network Under Fire Answers Its Critics
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So far, Melinda French Gates’s approach to philanthropy is embracing neither the intense oversight and rigorous political neutrality of the eponymous foundation she started with ex-husband Bill Gates, nor the invisibility of major donor MacKenzie Scott, to whom she has been compared and whom she calls “extraordinarily hands off.” Instead, French Gates is using her fortune, which reportedly totals nearly$34 billion, to back pro-choice organizations and support centrist political candidates, to enlist others she admires in seeking out worthy recipients, and to build coalitions on issues she cares about, primarily women’s rights and well-being. (Time)
Plus: Melinda French Gates on disrupting society with new philanthropic focus, finding her voice (CBS News)
Background from the Chronicle: Melinda French Gates Announces Where $1 Billion in New Funds Will Go to Help Women and Girls
A central figure in a 2020 federal probe of deceptive charitable fundraising, which resulted in a settlement of more than $58 million, is now working with a network of at least 10 political organizations using similar practices, according to a ProPublica investigation. Thomas Berkenbush, a co-manager of a company at the heart of that scandal, has since launched another firm that raises money for groups purporting to advocate on behalf of worthy causes but that, according to tax filings, have spent more than 90 percent of those revenues on fundraising. Berkenbush and others involved did not respond to requests for comment, but another fundraiser for the network said those expenses “support a broad range of outreach efforts, including phone calls and direct mail campaigns that are designed to inform the public about the PAC’s goals and initiatives.” (ProPublica)
Background from the Chronicle: Donor Beware: Pause Before You Give to Any Cause
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