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11 Trends in Philanthropy for 2025
Get PDFIt’s remarkable to think that five years have passed since the world first went into lockdown. Five years since the COVID-19 pandemic reshaped our daily lives and presented us with challenges unlike any we’d faced before. Half a decade later, we’re left to reflect on how much has truly changed — and what remains the same.
In 2020, philanthropy responded swiftly to the crisis, adopting practices nonprofits had long championed: streamlined reporting, simplified applications, and flexible funding that prioritized general operating support. These shifts brought hope for lasting transformation. Yet today, many funders have returned to pre-pandemic norms, leaving us to wonder if those changes were ever meant to last.
Movements like Trust-Based Philanthropy and efforts to advance racial equity seemed to make extraordinary gains, but they now face renewed challenges and critiques. And while foundation grantmaking has increased, overall charitable giving — once adjusted for inflation — has declined, even as that inflation continues to stretch nonprofit, government, and household budgets to their limits.
One constant remains: the growing demand for the essential services and resources nonprofits provide to help communities thrive. Five years on, the call to support and sustain these organizations is louder than ever.
This year’s 11 Trends report explores many of these issues and others — attempting to look beyond the pendulum swing and into a future where innovations in philanthropy and community-building may yet achieve the transformations we all hope to see
Professional Development to Foster Rigorous, Student-Centered Discussions in Literacy
Get PDFThis project looks at the gap of rigorous student discussion in literacy comprehension. It dives into research showing the impact of academic conversations for literacy comprehension. The project explores how professional development (PD) can equip teachers with strategies to foster student-centered discussions. The PD is designed to build teachers’ ability to implement Question the Author (QtA) techniques and facilitate rigorous, text-based discourse through Academic Conversations. The study aligns with constructivist learning theories, specifically Vygotsky’s Zone of Proximal Development (ZPD) and the role of metacognition in reading comprehension. Best implementation to facilitate the PD is post NWEA/State testing, allowing teachers to use data to best support student growth. It was piloted to Grand Rapids Montessori (GRM) staff for Above & Beyond credit following Winter 2025 NWEA testing. The PD framework guides educators in leveraging student data, selecting high-quality mentor texts, and structuring lessons that promote critical thinking through academic conversations. Implementation of this PD Project will result in developing independent peer discussions and refining instructional questioning strategies to guide the impact of academic conversations for student achievement in rigorous student-led peer discussions
2024 Liaison and Instruction Impact Report
Get PDFThis report provides an overview of the Libraries’ impact in teaching information literacy. Our Teaching and Learning Philosophy describes our student-focused approach and acknowledges “learning and teaching moments occur in a wide variety of contexts, including one-on-one reference consultations, while working on assignments, in the classroom, while considering personal and academic decisions.” Librarians partner with teaching faculty to design research assignments, collaborate on strategic scheduling of library instruction sessions, and cultivate collections to support student learning.
This report shows a snapshot of the work of our liaison and instruction librarians. Instructional approaches and liaison workloads continuously evolve and shift to meet the needs of a diverse and changing student population
Improving Admissions Planning in a Specialized Adult Foster Care Program
Get PDFBackground: Specialized adult foster care (AFC) programs have the unique ability to facilitate and coordinate continuity of care with an interdisciplinary approach internally and with community provider collaboration. The lack of communication in the transition of care admissions process leads to negative patient safety outcomes.
Purpose: The purpose of this quality improvement project was to identify barriers to improve communication, continuity of care, reduce negative health outcomes, and provide a culture of safety.
Methods: The Systems Engineering Initiative for Patient Safety (SEIPS) guided this quality improvement project. Assessment of quality measures and outcomes included the administration of pre- and post-implementation surveys to healthcare staff to assess knowledge, practice, and perceptions regarding the admissions process. Chart reviews pre and post implementation assessed comparison of outcome measures related to safety measures. Education and training sessions conducted by the team leader reported 100 % attendance for nursing staff and 46% attendance for all other staff members among the eight residential settings.
Results: Analysis of the data revealed a significant improvement in receiving complete medical history data, medications, and DME decreasing overall negative health outcomes post 30-day admission. The perception and knowledge in utilizing the formal admission process and forms were noted to be positive for improvement among the nurses and other healthcare staff.
Conclusions: Staff reported an increase in knowledge, efficiency in the admission paperwork process, and a culture of safety with the implementation of a formal admissions process. Chart reviews found a reduction of negative health outcomes variables.
Key Words: Safety, Transition of car
Culturally Competent Diabetes Management Guide for African Immigrants
Get PDFAbstract
Background: Culturally competent care is a cornerstone in medicine to address health disparities and improve outcomes for vulnerable populations. Suboptimal diabetes management was noted within a federally qualified health center in the Midwest along with a lack of culturally competent diabetes education available for African immigrants. The research question for this project is: Will a culturally appropriate diabetes management guide that addresses barriers to diabetes management improve African immigrant’s understanding and abilities to manage diabetes within a federally qualified health center in the Midwest?
Methods: A culturally competent diabetes management guide for African immigrants was created. We then identified patients within the organization that were African immigrants, over the age of 18 years old, and diagnosed with type 2 diabetes mellitus. Patients then participated in a one-on-one educational meeting utilizing a pre- and post-survey to measure diabetes understanding and confidence in managing the condition.
Results: Two patients participated in the project, both of whom met the inclusion criteria. Both participants rated their understanding of diabetes significantly higher following the intervention, improving from “poor” understanding to “good” understanding.
Conclusion: Data analysis of the project portrayed positive outcomes in participants’ understanding of diabetes and confidence in managing their condition. Future research could expand the project to include more participants for statistical significance. The education could also be disseminated throughout the organization to improve diabetes education for African immigrants
Accelerating Electrodeposition Simulation Using Physics Informed Neural Networks
No full textElectrodeposition plays a vital role in processes such as electrochemical additive manufacturing (ECAM) and electroplating, where precise control over operating conditions, such as current density, deposit thickness and electrolyte concentration is crucial to achieving desirable mechanical and structural properties. Given the vast number of independent variables available for the process of electrodeposition, traditional methods of experimentation and simulation are often time-consuming, costly, and prone to inaccuracies, limiting their usefulness in optimizing electrodeposition parameters. This study investigates the application of machine learning (ML) models, specifically data-driven artificial neural networks (ANNs), simulation-based physics-informed neural networks (PINNs), and hybrid PINNs (combining experimental data with simulation parameters and physics laws), to accelerate and enhance the accuracy of electrodeposition parameter predictions. Baseline data was generated from a potentiostatic electrodeposition experiment and simulation models incorporating Fick’s Second Law and Faraday’s Law. Data-driven ANNs utilized experimental data, simulation-based PINNs integrated simulation parameters with physics laws while hybrid PINNs combined the strengths of both approaches. The results show that ML models, particularly hybrid PINNs, can achieve up to 120 times increase in computational speed compared to traditional simulations, with superior accuracy. These models accurately captured key trends- including current density (a measure of ionic flux), deposit growth over time, and the dynamic behavior of electrolyte ion concentration- with their robustness validated through comparisons with experimental and simulation results. This study highlights the potential of ML models, especially hybrid PINNs, to provide rapid, reliable, and scalable solutions for optimizing process parameters. These advancements pave the way for more efficient and cost-effective innovations in electrochemical technologies
Dosimetric comparisons for determining optimal arc geometry in multi target thoracic VMAT SBRT treatment plans for patients with locally advanced inoperable NSCLC
Get PDFNon-coplanar beam arrangements have been used for many years in radiation treatment planning. Their use has been known to show an increase in target conformity and gradient index. However, by using non-coplanar beam arrangements, the treatment planning time as well as the treatment delivery time can increase. Despite the increase in treatment planning and delivery complexity and time, previous studies have shown a decrease in OAR doses resulting in a desire to use non-coplanar beams. Previous studies have looked at various body sites and target locations, though no research has been found specifically studying non-coplanar beam arrangement in multi-target treatment plans for inoperable non-small cell lung cancer patients.
This research aims to study the utility of non-coplanar beam arrangements for lung tissue sparing without sacrificing plan quality or target coverage in patients with multi-target inoperable non-small cell lung cancer on arm 2 of the NRG LU-008 clinical trial plan. 12 anonymized CT data sets of patients from an anonymized online database were downloaded and planned using the plan parameters provided in the NRG LU-008 arm 2 protocol. Each patient was planned with and without coplanar treatment arc geometry in accordance with the clinical trial OAR constraints and target prescriptions. Three EQD2 A/B = 3Gy composite plan dose summations were created in MIM for each patient: one composite with all coplanar arcs, one with non-coplanar arcs for the SBRT plan alone, and one with non-coplanar arcs for both plans. The composites were analyzed to study the change in dose to nearby OARs when adding non-coplanar beam arrangements.
Upon evaluation of the EQD2 composite plans optimized for 12 patients used in this sample population, the average maximum dose to the Lungs-IGTV, Brachial Plexus, and Heart contours decreased for the fully non coplanar EQD2 composite plans compared to strictly coplanar EQD2 composite plans. A paired student’s T test was performed to determine statistical significance for the changes to average OAR metrics and point doses. Our results indicate that for some patients, additional dose sparing is possible using non-coplanar arcs but that the utility of non-coplanar arcs for treating multi-target inoperable non-small cell lung cancer on the LU-008 arm 2 regiment, is not a statistically significant amount of dose reduction in lung tissue and other thoracic OAR anatomy
Comparative Evaluation of Breast Radiation Treatment Planning: Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT) Versus Modern Advanced 3D Planning Techniques (MA-3DRT) —Benefits, Limitations, and Clinical Implications
Get PDFAbstract 2 Left-sided breast cancer poses significant cardiac and pulmonary risks during radiation therapy, requiring techniques that optimize target coverage while minimizing exposure to critical organs. This study aimed to compare Volumetric Modulated Arc Therapy (VMAT) and Modern Advanced 3D Radiation Therapy (MA-3DRT), specifically Radformation’s EZFluence, in the treatment of left-sided breast cancer with nodal involvement. The objective was to evaluate which technique offers superior organ-at-risk (OAR) sparing, improved target coverage, and practical efficiency for clinical implementation. A retrospective dosimetric analysis was conducted on eight patients, each with an existing MA-3DRT plan. VMAT plans were generated using identical CT simulation data to allow for direct comparison. Dosimetric metrics evaluated included target volume coverage for (PTV Supraclavicular, Axilla, and IMNs), dose conformality, and OAR doses to the heart, ipsilateral lung, contralateral lung, and contralateral breast. Statistical comparisons used the Shapiro-Wilk test to assess normality, followed by paired t-tests or Wilcoxon signed-rank tests as appropriate. Results demonstrated that VMAT achieved significantly improved dose conformity and reduced low-dose spread to the contralateral breast (p \u3c 0.05). However, MA-3DRT plans resulted in significantly lower mean heart dose and smaller heart V2500cGy volumes, indicating better cardiac sparing. Ipsilateral lung doses were comparable between techniques, while VMAT showed increased complexity and longer planning time. In conclusion, while VMAT offers superior conformity and reduced exposure to contralateral structures, MA-3DRT remains advantageous for heart sparing and overall planning simplicity. Selection of the optimal technique should be guided by patient-specific anatomy and institutional resources. This study contributes evidence to support more personalized, evidence- based planning decisions in breast radiation therapy