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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
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.
This issue of The Foundation Review draws attention to topics often overlooked in mainstream research — everyday decisions and infrastructure choices that shape philanthropic practice and its impact.
For this tenth edition of the Trends report, we reflect on the themes that have shaped our sector over the past ten years and name both enduring shifts and new developments.
Philanthropy is shifting from institutional to participatory and from elite to networked as digital tools expand access and collective practices redistribute power among the new generation of philanthropists.
Climate action from grassroots organizations, Indigenous communities, and large-scale funders alike is working to fill the gaping holes left by eliminated federal funding, research teams, and entire agencies.
