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 has announced plans to commit up to $1 billion of its $12 billion endowment over 10 years to mission-related investing — the largest commitment to MRIs by a private foundation to date. Read the Full Story Here.
2. It’s one of the perennial questions facing the nonprofit world: Why, despite the sector’s collective resources and best efforts, do so many social problems remain so persistent. This stubborn gap between intentions and outcomes is drawing increased attention from across the philanthropic community. An emerging line of thinking points to systems change work as a means to better address common goals. Read the Full Story Here.
3. This is a complicated time for community foundations that have to tread carefully with funding that touches controversial political issues. The New York Community Trust recently created the Liberty Fund to support legal assistance, citizen action workshops, advocacy efforts for sanctuaries, safe havens for immigrants, and more. The new effort got off to a fast start with rapid-response grantmaking driven by a sense of urgency due to the current political climate. Read the Full Story Here.
4. A broad, nationwide coalition of 501(c)(3) organizations, made up of charitable nonprofits, including religious institutions, and foundations, delivered a clear message to Congress this week: maintain the current law that protects nonprofit organizations from being hounded for partisan political contributions and endorsements. Read the Full Story Here.
5. This week Governor Cuomo signed into law a program providing free tuition to students at public colleges and universities in New York State. The plan, call the Excelsior Scholarship, is more complicated than it sounds and could prove to have implications for foundations who provide scholarships. It has also been argued that the program will help tradition, but not typical students. 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.