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The Millionaireâs Son: Newspaper and Scrapbook Portraits of John D. Rockefeller, Jr. in College
Get PDFThe Rockefeller family scrapbooks provide unique insights into John D. Rockefeller, Jr.'s time as an undergraduate student at Brown University. The industrialist's son, "Junior," attracted media attention to otherwise minor, local news stories about college dances, plagiarism, and philanthropy, fueled by gossip in and around Providence, Rhode Island. The news articles clipped in the Rockefeller family scrapbooks document newspapers' favorable attitude towards the younger Rockefeller's character, religiosity, and budding business acumen. Controversies during these years surrounding the role of extreme wealth in universities would presage subsequent scrutiny of the Rockefellers' philanthropy. The predominantly positive caricatures of the heir during this early period would also serve as a counterpoint to later, more critical, popular assessments
Putting Families in the Driver's seat: A policy Brief on Direct Cash Assistance for Education
Get PDFIn the United States, where a child's ZIP code remains a stronger predictor of educational opportunity than their potential, the need for innovative funding approaches in education has never been more urgent. Despite decades of efforts to improve achievement outcomes, progress has stalled at a pace that could extend these inequities well into the 22nd century (Hanushek, 2022). In many districts, historically underserved students receive between 1,200 less in per-pupil funding than their white and economically advantaged peers—a gap compounded by limited access to experienced teachers and high-quality resources (Shore, 2021). These disparities leave low-income students at a significant disadvantage, struggling to access opportunities that could nurture their academic potential. The gaps widen even further when you account for after-school enrichment. Bellwether et al. (2022) highlight that "the poorest quintile of families spent 9,384" annually and indicate this gap has been widening at alarming rates (Comeforo, 2023).The recent rise of family-directed funding models—primarily through education microgrants and education savings accounts (ESAs)—has introduced new policy vehicles aimed at addressing these inequities. Unlike traditional funding mechanisms that allocate resources at the school or district level, these models empower families to invest directly in educational experiences for their children.This brief examines the unique strengths, challenges, and opportunities of ESAs and microgrants. We also explore key design principles, including community co-design, public-private partnerships, and holistic support systems, that can maximize their impact and sustainability. By drawing on lessons from established programs and alternative policy frameworks, we offer actionable recommendations to ensure these models serve all families equitably
Sowing the Seeds of Hope: Keeping children safe with families
Get PDFSafe children. Strong families. Supportive communities. Casey Family Programs uses these words to describe the desired outcomes of our mission to provide, improve — and ultimately prevent the need for — foster care.Read them in reverse — supportive communities, strong families, safe children — and a framework emerges. If the first condition — supportive communities — is true, the next can follow. If the next is true — if families are strengthened by those supportive communities — then we can have safe children.Understanding that all three are connected is key to improving safety for our nation's children, guiding us to think, plan and act differently.Over the past quarter century, this country has made great progress in keeping children safe, with significantly fewer experiencing abuse or neglect. Much of that has taken place in recent decades, a time when communities across the nation have begun to think, plan and act based on data, research and experience of what works best to keep children safe in their own families and cultures. Local, state, tribal and federal leaders have worked to develop and implement policies and practices that ensure more children can grow up safely in strong families and supportive communities. From Texas to Washington state, Kansas to Connecticut, a shared vision is growing of a child and family well-being system that supports improved safety. In this report, we look at how communities are adapting their approach to ensuring child safety and what leaders from all sectors can do to support continued progress
Critical Minerals and the U.S. Clean Energy Transition
Get PDFCritical minerals are key components in a range of products and equipment, from consumer electronics and military technology to solar panels and electric vehicle batteries. Their unique chemical properties make them particularly suitable for energy technologies and irreplaceable for certain purposes. Pursuant to the Energy Act of 2020 (P.L. 116–260), the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS) publishes a revised list of critical minerals every three years. The most recent list, published in 2022, categorizes 50 minerals as critical. For clarity and consistency, this issue brief will use the Energy Act definition of critical minerals, which encompasses both minerals and materials
Climate Change and Philanthropy Infrastructure: Supporting the Ecosystem to Act
Get PDFThe global impact of the climate crisis, increasingly marked by deadly heatwaves, droughts, floods, and other climate-related disasters, endangers all aspects of society, particularly vulnerable groups. This makes philanthropy's role, not only in achieving climate neutrality, but also in supporting adaptation, resilience, and broader climate action, more and more important.The scale of the challenge calls for collective action, and PIOs are integral to fostering collaboration, innovation and impact within the broader philanthropic ecosystem. The publication serves as a comprehensive directory of PIOs supporting European foundations in navigating the complex and rapidly evolving climate philanthropy landscape.This is the third edition of the report, covering 33 PIOs operating across European, national, regional and global levels. It provides an updated snapshot of the diverse actors that are contributing to supporting and shaping the field, including thematic and geographic networks, associations, pooled funds, consulting and advisory organisations and media entities.By providing a snapshot of the actors supporting climate philanthropy, the European Philanthropy Coalition for Climate aims to equip foundations, whether they are just beginning their climate journeys or are ready to demonstrate leadership, with the tools and networks they need to act
FilantropÃa Institucional Efectiva: Cinco Casos de América Latina
Get PDFLa Universidad Adolfo Ibáñez (Chile), a través de su Centro de FilantropÃa e Inversiones Sociales (Cefis-UAI) y la Universidad del PacÃfico (Perú) presentan FilantropÃa institucional efectiva: cinco casos de América Latina, una publicación que busca profundizar en los modelos de gestión organizacional que sostienen entidades filantrópicas para buscar un impacto efectivo en los ámbitos de interés público en los cuales se centra su misión.FilantropÃa institucional efectiva: cinco casos de América Latina es parte de un proyecto que se inició con una investigación del sector filantrópico presentada en 2020 en la Primera Conferencia de FilantropÃa Institucional en América Latina, en Santiago de Chile, donde presentamos el libro Hacia el fortalecimiento de la filantropÃa institucional en América Latina, publicado por el Fondo Editorial de la Universidad del PacÃfico y de libre acceso
Funding Ventura County Nonprofits: Seizing Opportunities in a Changing Philanthropic Landscape
Get PDFThis report provides insights into the financial health and funding trends of the county's nonprofit sector. With Ventura County's nonprofits generating over 660 million in 2023), and private donations (77 million in 2018 to over 160 million in 2022.Donor-Advised Funds on the Rise: Contributions from donor-advised funds (DAFs) nearly tripled from 23 million in 2023, highlighting a shift in donor preferences and behavior.Mega-Grants and External Funding: While large one-time grants have boosted some organizations, two-thirds of major funders are located outside Ventura County, emphasizing the need for strategic donor engagementThe report also outlines strategies for nonprofits, funders, and community leaders to strengthen financial sustainability, including diversifying revenue streams, enhancing donor engagement, and fostering collaboration. Three prominent nonprofit sector leaders provide further commentary to the report's findings
The Composition of the New Bedford Creative Economy
Get PDFUsing a new research approach developed specifically for the city scale, this report defines the composition of New Bedford's Creative Economy by aggregating data from a variety of sources to build an inventory of known contributing establishments. It reviews establishments' industry classification codes and then classifies them into 20 code groups, based on a grouping methodology developed by the New England Foundation for the Arts (NEFA) using North American Industry Classification System (NAICS) code groups. These groups are organized into core, peripheral, and New Bedford–specific creative industries, with the intention that this inventory can be updated over time. Results are used to calculate direct revenue and direct job contributions to the New Bedford Economy, for the years 2017–2022 for non-profit organizations and for all others, for the years 2019–2022. Year 2022 findings are presented stylistically in Figure 1
Resilience and collaboration: Lessons from the Fenomenal Funds initiative
Get PDFFeminist movements globally are navigating complex and increasingly hostile environments. Civic space is shrinking, authoritarianism is rising, and resources for rights-based organising remain scarce and difficult to access, especially for those at the margins of mainstream funding ecosystems. Yet, at the same time, feminist movements continue to be at the forefront of innovation, resistance, and social change. To be able to rise to new opportunities and strategically respond to fast-changing contexts, feminist organisations must be supported in building their resilience – not only to survive turbulence, but to adapt, grow, and lead. As the Learning Partner to Fenomenal Funds, KIT Institute worked alongside initiative stakeholders between mid-2023 and early 2025 to co-create and implement a participatory learning process. Our role focused on documenting outcomes and drawing learnings from the lived experiences of the women's funds participating in the Fenomenal Funds initiative, through feminist and participatory methodologies. The primary purpose of this report is to document and analyse the outcomes of the Fenomenal Funds model, with a particular focus on how it contributed to organisational resilience and collaboration among the participating women's funds. It aims to offer concrete insights into what happens when women's funds receive multi-year, core, flexible, non-competitive, non-regrantable funding— particularly in the context of shared governance and feminist grant-making practices. This report is intended to inform a range of audiences: funders, women's funds, movement actors, feminist intermediaries, and practitioners working to shift philanthropic practice. It contributes to the broader knowledge base on feminist funding models, offering lessons and insights for those seeking to operationalise their values with practice and better support sustainable feminist infrastructures. While the Fenomenal Funds initiative also sought to amplify collective voice and influence philanthropic systems, this report primarily focuses on its first two intended outcomes: institutional resilience and collaboration among women's funds. Our analysis does not attempt to evaluate donor-side practices or assess the long-term external influence of the model, although these dimensions remain important areas for future research and documentation. However, implications for ongoing advocacy and practice are explored in the final section.Â