In past recessions, donors have tightened their pursestrings even as the need has grown. But two scholars explain why, at least for foundations, there’s room for more generosity in tough times.
Eight charities will get the Trump Foundation’s remaining assets.
Dennis Van Tine/MediaPunch/IPX via AP
Under a settlement reached with New York authorities, he must give US$2 million to nonprofits out of his own pocket. And if he wants to start another foundation, Trump must submit to close supervision.
Obama’s Nobel Peace Prize ceremony in Oslo.
AP Photo/John McConnico
Morten Wendelbo, American University School of Public Affairs
The $4 billion that foundations are pledging to spend within five years amounts to less than 1 percent of what businesses and governments spend on global warming every year.
H.F. ‘Gerry’ Lenfest, left, donated tens of millions of dollars to sustain Philadelphia’s newspapers.
AP Photo/Rich Schultz
When organizations dedicated to doing good make money their top priority, they get into trouble.
Oklahoma Gov. Mary Fallin, front, after she signed a law that allows pay-for-success funding for projects aiming to reduce female incarceration rates.
AP Photo/Sue Ogrocki
These partnerships between investors, governments and nonprofits are a new way to pay for programs and services that help people in need and address intractable problems like mass incarceration.
Donald Trump gave this $100,000 check from his foundation to a charity during an Iowa campaign event in 2016.
AP Photo/Patrick Semansky
There is a risk that the foundation’s alleged disregard for its duty to serve others rather than one family’s personal interests could become more commonplace.
Eric, Don Jr., Ivanka and Donald Trump.
AP Photo/Evan Vucci
When public universities and their foundations take large sums of money from political and strategic philanthropists, they can’t safeguard academic freedom unless there’s some transparency.
NRA volunteer shooting instructors Vern Marion and Brian Beck, firing at targets in 2002.
AP Photo/Debra Reid
The nation’s biggest gun advocacy group operates as a bundle of distinct organizations. It’s a fairly common arrangement, followed also by the likes of Planned Parenthood and the ACLU.
Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft and co-chair of the eponymous foundation speaks at Pretoria University, Mamelodi Campus. His foundation is particularly active in the field of health care but also finances numerous institutions dedicated to research.
Marco Longari/AFP
Fabrice Jaumont, Fondation Maison des Sciences de l'Homme (FMSH)
American charitable foundations have gradually established themselves as key players in the African academic sector. If the benefits have been remarkable, there are risks as well.
Bill Clinton, at a wind farm in Panama’s Cocle province built with the Clinton Foundation’s support.
Reuters/Carlos Jasso
The foundation initially seemed well-suited for cleaning up Bill Clinton’s legacy after the Monica Lewinsky scandal’s ugliness. That’s no longer true.
Jeff Bezos (right), now the world’s second-richest person, is charting a different course for his philanthropy than Bill Gates (left), the richest, and Warren Buffett (center), who has fallen to third place.
Reuters/Jim Tanner
Ted Lechterman, Stanford University McCoy Family Center for Ethics in Society
Amazon’s founder turned to Twitter to crowdsource ideas for his charitable giving. This populist approach and his preference for short-term results set Jeff Bezos apart from other mega-donors.
As journalism loses its financial footing, it may need more support from foundations.
Tim Karr/Free Press
In ‘The Givers,’ author David Callahan warns that today’s mega-rich philanthropists wield too much political clout. He may be exaggerating their power and lowballing the public’s own strength.
Given Trump’s substantial conflicts of interest, the foundation’s admission of self-dealing should sound a warning to both the president-elect and voters as he takes the oath of office.
The Trump Foundation has received lots of scrutiny in recent months questioning how much the candidate gives, where the charity’s money comes from and how it’s used. Here’s what we know so far.
Philanthropic foundations are unlike other charities and not-for-profit organisations.
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The current lack of transparency in Australian philanthropy raises ethical questions. Far from being a solely private activity, philanthropy needs greater public accountability.
Professor of Economics, Public Policy and Public Administration, and International Affairs, Associate Director, Trachtenberg School, Co-Director: George Washington University Regulatory Studies Center, George Washington University