Philanthropic practice

Two foundations, Kresge and the Oregon Community Foundation, that are testing equitable evaluation shared some of their experiences in a recent webinar on advancing equitable evaluation offered by the Associations Advancing Equitable Evaluation Practices.

Philanthropy has a crucial role in supporting arts and culture organizations to address inequities at the community level, write Kerry McCarthy, vice president for philanthropic initiatives for The New York Community Trust, and Maurine Knighton, program director for the arts at the Doris Duke Charitable Foundation, in Stanford Social Innovation Review.

In his review of Edgar Villanueva's Decolonizing Wealth, Michael Seltzer, distinguished lecturer at the Marxe School of Public Affairs at Baruch College, discusses that the book places a spotlight on "how colonialism has been perpetuated and the importance of eliminating its persistence in today’s wealth and philanthropic circles in particular."

"Cultural institutions should be at the forefront of socially responsible investing, and this is where their boards can help. So far, it is small arts organisations that are leading the way," wrote Laura Callanan, founding partner of Upstart Co-Lab, in a recent article.

"The way the charitable tax deduction is set up, lower-income Americans can’t really take advantage of it. Unless you earn a lot of money, it makes no financial sense to do your taxes in a way that lets you claim the charitable deduction," states an article in Vox.

An article in Forbes offers ideas on approaches a resource-constrained endowment or foundation could take to develop a sustainable investing program.

"As more and more cultural philanthropists face scrutiny over the sources of their wealth, the economic scaffolding supporting American museums is being tested, and artists are facing difficult questions about complicity in the system," details a recent article in Artsy.

Ford, Hewlett, MacArthur, Open Society, and Packard, five of America’s wealthiest foundations, pledge "to do more to help grantees pay for rent, decent wages, technology, and other overhead," The Chronicle of Philanthropy reported.

The Plough Foundation announced it will close down operations within the next four years, The Associated Press reported. The Memphis, Tennessee-based foundation informed in a news release, it will grant its remaining assets to local nonprofits.

Philanthropy New York is piloting a new leadership program for experienced program officers and directors tailored for those who have chosen to work in philanthropy to help bring about change and want to push themselves to be effective champions within their roles, as the initiative's webpage explains.