Foundation Giving

Also, the Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation grants $50 million for credentialing and career training in Kansas City, and Wells Fargo Foundation awards $22.5 million to close racial gaps in homeownership in three U.S. cities.

Also, the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation committed $75 million to boost enrollment in higher education among students in Washington State, and the ClimateWorks Foundation will give $21.5 million to address fertilizer’s effect on climate change, food security, and energy.

A coordinated effort is needed in communities across the country to bring together people of different political parties, faith traditions, and racial and ethnic identities. A new undertaking from four major nonprofits aims to lead the way.

The new funding comes as countries in East Africa and the Horn of Africa face the worst drought in decades.

Also, the Perot Foundation and the Sarah and Ross Perot Jr. Foundation gave $50 million to the University of Texas Southwestern Medical Center to endow a dual-degree program for physician-scientists, and the Rockefeller Foundation has awarded $11 million to promote Indigenous farming practices to safeguard the global food system from the effects of climate change.

Local journalism is coming back to life in many communities thanks to increased giving from foundations and individual donors. But the success of these nonprofit newsrooms is far from guaranteed and will depend on continuing philanthropic support.

Donors on the left shouldn’t wait for the next election cycle to give nonprofits the resources they need to train and nurture new political talent — and to catch up with far better financed organizations on the right.

Also, the Kislak Family Foundation gave $10 million to the Library of Congress for a new gallery about Indigenous societies, and several major grants have been announced at the U.N. Climate Change Conference, taking place this week in Egypt.

Religious groups are taking a leading role in fighting climate change but have gone largely unnoticed by grant makers. As the U.N Climate Conference gets underway this week, now is a good time for donors to recognize the power of religious institutions to mobilize communities to protect the planet.

Arthur Blank, co-founder of Home Depot, and Fay Twersky, president of the Arthur M. Blank Family Foundation, talk about a collaborative approach to decision-making.