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. The Ford Foundation is getting ready to open its first office in Detroit since leaving the city in 1953 as it ramps up an initiative to invest in affordable housing in Detroit. The international foundation’s President & CEO, Darren Walker, announced that the Detroit office will be staffed by a new Program Officer who will be in charge of overseeing the $15 million in grants the foundation is making in Detroit annually, which is the most of any U.S. city. Read the Full Story Here.
2. Keeping politics, government, and charitable purposes separate has been a basic requirement of 501(c)(3) nonprofit organizations. In Wisconsin, we can see this line between politics and charitable giving blur. The relationship between the state’s current Republican leadership and the funding coming from the Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation raises questions about what charitable purpose is and is not. Read the Full Story Here.
3. It’s often assumed that we are moved to be philanthropists by being attentive to others who are less fortunate than ourselves. But could it be that being tuned into others whose circumstances are very much like our own is just as important to the philanthropic impulse? Read the Full Story Here.
4. This week, Atlantic Philanthropies released a research report by historian Benjamin Soskis investigating the “Giving While Living” theory of philanthropy — the idea that individuals of great means should use their money to help people during their lifetimes. Soskis breaks down the phenomenon into three intertwined imperatives, exploring the distinct historical development of each, while also highlighting the tensions that have emerged between them and between limited life philanthropy. Read the Full Story Here.
5. Red Nose Day was this week — but what exactly is it? The non-profit Comic Relief, which uses comedy to raise money for disadvantaged people, launched Red Nose Day in the United Kingdom in 1988. Since then, the day has raised more than $1 billion globally to end child poverty around the world. 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.