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Latest from the Blog

Partners No More? Government and Philanthropy Navigate a Fractured Relationship
Partners No More? Government and Philanthropy Navigate a Fractured Relationship
Government and philanthropy have long been partners: sometimes uneasy, but aligned in purpose. As of 2025, they look more like adversaries.
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Inside The Foundation Review, Vol. 18, Issue 2
Inside The Foundation Review, Vol. 18, Issue 2
The articles in this issue explore the gaps between what foundations say they value and what their structures, habits, and incentives actually produce — and ask what it will take for us to close those gaps.
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Convergence: A Global Realignment for Community Foundations
Convergence: A Global Realignment for Community Foundations
Different types of community foundations are working to share knowledge and build closer relationships, which is helping to strengthen the global community foundation field overall.
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Across Borders, Beyond Blueprints: The Global Evolution of Community Foundations
Across Borders, Beyond Blueprints: The Global Evolution of Community Foundations
This essay explores what U.S. community foundations might learn from peers who adapted key aspects of the community foundation model in the absence of concentrated private wealth, favorable tax codes, or established donor cultures.
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Community Foundations in the United States: Origins, Evolution, and the Turn Toward Community Leadership
Community Foundations in the United States: Origins, Evolution, and the Turn Toward Community Leadership
This essay traces the origins and evolution of community foundations in the U.S., from the founding of the Cleveland Foundation in 1914 to today, and suggests a path toward reclaiming their original, authentic civic purpose.
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Defining “Philanthropy,” Part II: Reclaiming What Philanthropy Was Always Meant to Be
Defining “Philanthropy,” Part II: Reclaiming What Philanthropy Was Always Meant to Be
This essays suggests we can reclaim the true definition of "philanthropy" by looking at how people actually give — not through the lens of foundations and endowments, but through the evidence of everyday practice.
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Defining “Philanthropy,” Part I: Love of Humankind
Defining “Philanthropy,” Part I: Love of Humankind
In this essay, Michael Layton examines how the definition of the word "philanthropy" has narrowed over time and makes the case that the fuller meaning is still available to us, if we are willing to fight for it.
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More Than a Neighborhood: The Many Meanings of “Community”
More Than a Neighborhood: The Many Meanings of “Community”
This essay explores the contours of community as a concept and an empirical phenomenon — one that can be a source of support and healing, but can also divide and exclude.
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Weighing the Power of AI Against Its Impact
Weighing the Power of AI Against Its Impact
In the three years since generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) tools became widely available to the public, we have seen an extraordinary rate of growth and change. AI's next era must focus on good governance.
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Grounded in Purpose: What Philanthropy Can Learn From Psychology
Grounded in Purpose: What Philanthropy Can Learn From Psychology
In the midst of what feels like chaos, we urge the sector to move beyond recognizing and naming the existential threats we are collectively experiencing and to take action.
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Upcoming Events
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Thu June 18
Rooted in Community: The Infrastructure Powering Collective Giving
FREE! Hear from lead researchers and key players in the collective giving infrastructure ecosystem as they discuss findings from "Rooted in Community," the latest report mapping the organizations, relationships, and systems that make collective giving more connected and accessible.
12:00 pm
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Tue June 23
Catalysts of Community Philanthropy: How Community Foundations, Collective Giving, and Giving Days Strengthen Civic Life
FREE! Our guest panel of field experts will explore community philanthropy — the community foundations, giving circles, mutual aid groups, giving days, and neighborhood-led funds that are mobilizing generosity, expanding participation, strengthening trust, nurturing civic engagement, and shifting power to communities.
1:00 pm
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Wed July 22
Founding Philanthropists and the Origins of Community Giving in the U.S.
FREE! This webinar examines the lives and legacies of three Philadelphians as windows onto the origins of America's associational traditions: the threads of civic innovation, Black mutual aid, and women's organized benevolence.
1:00 pm
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In the News
Wed May 20
Macomb County falls far short of neighbors in nonprofit grant funds received, study finds
Source: Crain's Detroit Business
Wed May 6
What Yale Got Right That Other Nonprofits Keep Getting Wrong
Source: The Chronicle of Philanthropy
Wed April 29
How Tax Policy Changes Are Altering Charitable Giving
Source: Chief Investment Officer
Tue March 17
Strong Collective Giving Efforts Need Structure
Source: The NonProfit Times