Issue Highlights
New study says conservation works, providing hope for biodiversity efforts
While conservation efforts are crucial, the study’s lead author emphasizes that addressing drivers of biodiversity loss, such as unsustainable consumption and production, is also necessary to halt and reverse the decline of biodiversity.
The Gill Foundation, an LGBTQ Powerhouse, Dives Into Pro-Democracy Funding | Inside Philanthropy
Notably, none of the listed grantees are primarily LGBTQ-serving organizations. Instead, their work ranges from journalism (Courier Newsroom and American Independent Radio, a project of The American Independent Foundation) to voter registration and encouragement (Voter Participation Center) and narrative change (Galvanize USA).
What to know about U.S. nonprofit sector demographics
The report aims to increase transparency about diversity in the sector, highlight key findings at the macro level, and offer a snapshot and baseline with which to track efforts related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.
LGBTQ Social Justice
South African president signs new hate crimes, hate speech law
Ruth Maseko of Umndeni LGBTI Group and the Triangle Project said the new law creates a precedent of what constitutes hate crime and the repercussions.
10 queer Kenyans caught in Grindr blackmail scheme fight back in court
LGBTQ rights activists in Kenya are taking social media companies to court to try to block them from allowing blackmailers to use them as tools for entrapping LGBTQ victims. Among the social media platforms involved in the cases are Grindr and Facebook.
Kenya LGBTQ+ dating app blackmail cases go to court | Nation
African countries have some of the most prohibitive laws against homosexuality in the world.
Appeals court upholds ruling requiring Georgia county to pay for a transgender deputy's surgery | AP News
the 11th U.S. Circuit Court of Appeals said it was tasked with determining whether a health insurance provider can be held liable under the Civil Rights Act of 1964 for denying coverage for a procedure because an employee is transgender. The three-judge panel decided in a 2-1 vote that it can and that the lower court had ruled correctly.
Great Apes & Gibbons
Orangutan Language Is More Sophisticated Than Once Thought | Discover Magazine
Their study didn’t examine what the primates were saying. But it helped identify how they were saying it. The researchers concluded that orangutans use a far greater variety of sounds than has been previously appreciated.
An ape for palm oil? Why critics say Malaysia’s ‘orangutan diplomacy’ plan is problematic | CNN
“It is obscene, repugnant and extraordinarily hypocritical to destroy rainforests where orangutans live, take them away and give them as gifts to curry favor with other nations,” Stuart Pimm, chair of conservation ecology at Duke University, told CNN. “It totally goes against how we should be protecting them and our planet.”
Chimps are dying of the common cold. Is great ape tourism to blame? | Mammals | The Guardian
Viruses that cause mild sniffles in humans are devastating populations of chimpanzees and gorillas. In some ape communities, it’s a bigger killer than habitat loss or poaching
Wild by nature: Ecological restoration brings humanity and biodiversity together
In this podcast conversation, co-host Rachel Donald speaks with Martin about the shift in mindset required to tackle biodiversity loss that centers on a restorative approach that’s human-inclusive and mobilizes public participation rather than exclusion.
Philanthropy
Rooting change and cultivating support for Indigenous people - Alliance magazine
together with HE Razan Al Mubarak of IUCN, Kevin Currey of Ford Foundation and Lord Zach Goldsmith, UK, we discussed how Indigenous people and local communities have long stewarded our forests, lands, and waters, protecting them from excessive exploitation. Deeply intertwined with their surroundings, Indigenous people live in harmony with landscapes and maintain the fragile balance of nature. Indigenous ways of life reduce emissions, halt forest loss and protect places brimming with life. And that’s why securing their land tenure – territorial and customary rights – is so crucial for our planet and future
Philanthropic collaboratives are finding ways to more effectively measure impact | Candid Blog
In our study How Philanthropic Collaboratives Measure, Evaluate, and Learn, we examined three levels of impact: grantees, systems or fields, and donors.
Nonprofit organization collaboration shows measurable impact | Philanthropy news | PND
the reports, Unlocking the Power of Sustained Collaboration: Insights from Partnerships for Nonprofits and Consultants (45 pages, PDF) and Nurturing Nonprofit Collaborations: Insights for Philanthropic Funders (22 pages, PDF), found that 73 percent showed evidence of success. Moreover, the reports found greater innovation or new approaches to programs, growth of existing programs to reach more people, new funding from sources other than Sustained Collaboration Network initiatives,
The Abbott Approach: Innovating in the Program Officer Role - The Center for Effective Philanthropy
we need to change the boundaries of the program officer role. We need to recalibrate what’s prioritized and possible when working with grantees. We’ll examine what this means — and what it could look like — in this blog, and, in our next post in this series, Sarah Moody will explore how we can reimagine our boundaries to strengthen feedback loops.
Going Beyond Innovating: Reimagining the Program Officer Role - The Center for Effective Philanthropy
Transitioning to a model that values collaboration, transparency, and shared decision-making required a fundamental shift in our mindset and organizational culture. This is still a work in progress, and we are navigating this complex dynamic.
Silently Shrinking Grants: Is Inflation Reducing the Value of Your Grant? - The Center for Effective Philanthropy
what I can see in CEP’s Grantee Perception Report (GPR) data, even though the size of many funders’ grants has grown in real terms over time, a meaningful proportion haven’t kept pace with inflation.
Local leaders have the solutions: why aren’t we funding them? - Alliance magazine
Funding alone is often insufficient, and international funders can support local organizations to achieve much greater change by providing multiple forms of support. Local leaders and organizations are often working to transform deeply entrenched social problems that require multiple forms of support. Over 80 percent of leaders surveyed reported that having access to a flexible bundle of support – including leadership and advocacy training, mentoring, flexible funding, and peer networks – increased their ability to achieve their goals.
Investing in capacity building: The vital role of general operating support for BIPOC-led nonprofits
These organizations are on the front lines, addressing the multifaceted needs of their communities with limited resources and often facing systemic barriers to sustainable growth. Imagine the transformative impact of philanthropy prioritizing investment in the capacity of BIPOC-led organizations through general operating support grants—providing the flexible funding necessary not only to strengthen organizational infrastructure but also to foster innovation and drive meaningful impact.
Co-leadership: A path to more diverse, sustainable nonprofits?
more nonprofits may be adopting co-leadership models as they experiment with new ways of working, sharing power, centering BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and people of color) leaders, and planning for succession. Our analysis of Candid data suggests co-led nonprofits are more common than you might think.
HIV drugmaker provides a case study in philanthropic whitewashing - Alliance magazine
critics say Gilead’s monopolistic practices have come at the expense of some of the most marginalised and long-suffering patients, erasing its philanthropic awards.
What Can We Learn from How Two Regional Funders Are Confronting Challenges to Democracy? | Inside Philanthropy
“Disengagement and disconnection” in California’s Central Valley
This Michigan-Based Donor Advisor is Building a Firm Foundation for the Progressive Movement | Inside Philanthropy
Ktisis doesn’t provide fiduciary services or host DAFs, but it does provide most of the services that progressive donors may need to conduct their giving. The firm’s offerings include advising on grantmaking, strategy and program design; program and operational support; and research, learning opportunities and governance advice for funders.
Critics Said Our Data Platform Exacerbated the Nonprofit World’s Inequities. They Were Right.
Candid learned that addressing power imbalances is only possible when those with the most resources change their own behavior.
MacKenzie Scott’s game-changing philanthropy still mystifies nonprofits: ‘Her gifts are super generous, but unfortunately, they don’t provide long term sustainability’ | Fortune
“She’s been an inspiration for a lot of people, but not a lot of people are acting upon that inspiration,” said Pamala Wiepking, a professor at the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at Indiana University, who has studied the impact of unrestricted giving on nonprofits.
These Donors Are Revolting Against the “Charity Lobby” to Push Sweeping Philanthropic Reform | Inside Philanthropy
All of the signatories are donors with either private foundations or their own DAFs, and their message is a simple one: “We enthusiastically support reforming our nation’s philanthropic sector to ensure that when funders receive tax breaks for charitable contributions, those contributions actually get to working charities.”
Prioritizing authentic connections through trust-based philanthropy
The Honnold Foundation works in partnership with marginalized communities around the world to expand equitable access to solar energy and develop locally relevant solutions to climate change. Our approach to grantmaking developed organically over a period of five years as we learned from grassroots organizations and adapted our practices to meet their needs.