The Family PhilanthroNews Round Up offers a quarterly snapshot of news stories, articles, events of note, and resources from across the philanthropic sector. 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.
2024 National Study on Donor Advised Funds
DAF Research Collaborative
The 2024 National Study on Donor Advised Funds includes information about DAFs from 2014 to 2022, covering aspects such as account size, age, type, succession plan, donor demographics, contributions, grants, payout rates, and grantmaking speed. The report represents the most extensive independent study on DAFs to date. Thanks to the collective efforts of 111 DAF programs that voluntarily provided anonymized data to the research team, the dataset covers nine years of activity from more than 50,000 accounts, with over 600,000 inbound contributions to DAFS and more than 2.25 million outbound grants from DAFs.
Advancing Participation in Philanthropy Tool
Diana Samarasan and Katy Love
A self-assessment tool for grantmaking foundations to gauge where they currently are in terms of participatory practices across all areas of work and operations.
Justice Funders Liberatory Governance Community of Practice
Justice Funders
A community of practice for mid-level program staff, senior staff, and board members working within philanthropic institutions, in roles where they have influence to shape organizational culture and practices, to explore a new model for thinking about governance, leadership, and power.
The Future of Trust-Based Philanthropy
Stanford Social Innovation Review
The trust-based philanthropy movement has grown in rapid time, but there are still basic misunderstandings about this approach and its bold vision for a more just and democratic society. This supplement illustrates what a trust-based approach really means, why it is essential to effective philanthropy, and what will be possible if more funders embrace it. Sponsored by the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project.
Racial Justice Programs Under Fire: Foundations are Running Scared when they Should Double Down
The Chronicle of Philanthropy
Perceived legal threats following the Supreme Court affirmative action ruling are causing grant makers to backslide, fueling notions that racial justice work is discriminatory or illegal.
Helping Movements Meet the Moment: What Philanthropy Can and Must Do
Nonprofit Quarterly
This NPQ article offers steps that social justice philanthropists should consider when identifying opportunities to support the community leaders and movement organizers that are working to address the root causes and outcomes of systemic crises in the United States. The article outlines five steps: (1) Focus on power, not policy; (2) Trust the field; (3) Stick with it for the long haul; (4) Shift the middle; and (5) Change the funding power dynamic.
A Really Tough Job: CEOs Work to Make Their Roles More Manageable
The Chronicle of Philanthropy
The Chronicle commissioned survey of nonprofit CEOs published in May reports that while charity CEOs love their work, they struggle to manage challenges like performance expectations, work-life balance, staffing recruitment and retention, and fundraising. Survey respondents indicate that improving board engagement could help alleviate workload pressures that contribute to burnout among nonprofit leaders.
Philanthropy’s New Voice: Building Trust With Deeper Stories and Clear Language
Council on Foundations
This report offers science-backed strategies for foundations to build understanding and trust, starting with the words they use and the stories they tell. It is the result of a yearlong research collaboration between the Council on Foundations and the Center for Public Interest Communications.
State of Nonprofits 2024: What Funders Need to Know
The Center for Effective Philanthropy
This yearly survey is based on CEP’s Nonprofit Voice Project, a panel of U.S. nonprofits that is representative of the national landscape of nonprofits receiving at least some foundation funding. A primary objective of the panel is to help funders, both individual and institutional, better understand the nonprofit experience so they can more effectively support the organizations they fund. The 2024 report highlights staff burnout as a source of serious concern for nonprofit leaders.