Friday Rewind

The Friday Rewind offers a snapshot of PhilanthroNews —  that means news stories, articles, events of note, or information updates — from around our network and throughout the broad world of philanthropy. Whether you take a quick skim of the material or a deep dive through each item we hope to help inform your work and inspire your thinking.

1. Last week, Jeff Bezos took to Twitter asking for suggestions on how the Amazon tycoon could best use his wealth to have a positive impact on people. He received over 42,000 responses from everyday Americans to Madonna, seeking support for everything from health care to education to loan forgiveness. The unusually public approach bears the stamp of Silicon Valley disruption, and it’s turning heads in a realm that usually enlists consultants and experts to parcel out big-dollar gifts. Read the Full Story Here.
2. Nearly one third of Americans don’t trust charities to spend their donations wisely. But new research by nonprofit evaluator and watchdog Charity Navigator proves such feelings generally unfounded, at least among the largest and longstanding cause groups operating within America’s major cities. Read the Full Story Here.
3. Since launching roughly five years ago, the Giving Pledge has attracted the support of more than a hundred billionaires around the world. The pledge, of course, is Bill and Melinda Gates and Warren Buffett’s effort to shame – there really isn’t a better word for it – the world’s richest into giving away half their wealth by the time they die. In this “throwback post”, Philanthropy Daily re-shared an article from 2015 on what Bob Dylan can teach us about the Giving Pledge. Read the Full Story Here. 
4. Impact investing is steadily moving from a niche market to mainstream. In previous articles for Stanford Social Innovation Review, Jean Case has written on myths and barriers holding the movement back, as well as trends that will take impact investing to the next level. Now, as the movement seeks to put trillions of dollars to work to deliver both social and financial returns, Case takes a look at what is needed most to propel it to the next phase, and the answer is abundantly clear: data. Read the Full Story Here.
5. America leads the world when it comes to access to higher education. But when it comes to health, environmental protection, and fighting discrimination, it trails many other developed countries, according to the Social Progress Imperative, a U.S.-based nonprofit. The United States came in at #18 and is ranked as a second tier nation within the multi-level structure of the Social Progress Index 2017 Report compiled from social and environmental data. Read the Full Story Here.

Friday Rewind is published each Friday by NY Funders Alliance staff. To submit a story for the Friday Rewind, please email programs@nyfunders.org.