Philanthropy Today

This Week in The Commons

• Charity:water breaks a fundraising taboo to unite its followers
• Melinda French Gates’s philanthropy chief on women’s power (from The Commons launch)
• How pro-democracy philanthropy is flying blind
• A new, celebrity-packed anti-polarization coalition

A Fundraising Gambit

From senior editor Drew Lindsay: A fundraising email from Charity:water landed in my inbox recently with the subject line: “Whose side are you on anyway?” — an odd question given that the international-relief group’s donors, like every organization’s, are divided over Israel-Gaza, Trump-Biden, and many other demarcation lines. I called Ben Greene, the organization’s top fundraiser, to ask why he was playing with matches when America feels like a tinderbox.

To be sure, Charity:water leavened this heavy topic with an interactive quiz that poked fun at our fights over things like whether pineapple belongs on pizza. But Ben said the digital campaign had a serious purpose: to point to the country’s divisions as a contrast to how the organization’s work can bring people together.

• Read about the campaign’s results in “Charity:water Breaks a Fundraiser Taboo and Talks About Division — Sort Of.”
  

AP Photo/Ted S. Warren

The French Gates Blueprint for Change

My colleagues this week reported that Melinda French Gates is getting $12.5 billion as she exits the Gates Foundation, which she helped create. What’s her plan for that money? The Commons got an insider’s preview in an essay last month by Brooke D. Anderson, head of French Gates’s Pivotal Ventures and a former top U.S. diplomat. Anderson argued that expanding the influence of women is vital to virtually every issue philanthropy is tackling.

• Read Anderson’s essay: “Put Women in the Rooms Where It Happens”

Why Philanthropy Is Flying Blind

Countless pro-democracy organizations and programs have launched in recent years, with grants more than tripling, according to Andrew Seligsohn, head of Public Agenda, a research and public engagement group. But how do foundations know if these initiatives are working?

The short answer: They don’t. That’s a problem, Seligsohn says, and he offers a plan for what to do.

• Read his essay: “Which Pro-Democracy Initiatives Work? Philanthropy Has No Idea”
  

A New Set of Builders

This week saw the launch of a high-profile coalition to reduce polarization. Called Builders, it includes entrepreneur and philanthropist Daniel Lubetzky, actor Liev Schreiber, journalist Katie Couric, and director of the Muhammad Ali Center, Lonnie Ali. “Extremists get up every morning with the intention of furthering their cause, and they are driven to divide and destroy,” Ali said. “We need to channel that same energy, but to unite and build.”

• Read our report: “New Builders Initiative Looks to Fight Polarization by Encouraging Collaboration and Alliances”

Of the Moment

Noteworthy news and items:

• Read: In an interview with writer and activist Anand Giridharadas, Heather McGhee — author of The Sum of Us and former president of Demos, the racial justice and democracy group — makes the case for reparations. “It’s so important for our democracy for everyone to know that they live in a society where when government harms you, they make it right.”
• Watch: ABC’s Good Morning America profiles the American Exchange Project, a nonprofit that aims to bridge divides through an exchange program in which high schoolers from vastly different parts of the country trade places.