Philanthropic practice

A recent piece in the Harvard Business Review states that as investors are eager to generate both business and social returns, one avenue has been impact investing or "directing capital to ventures that are expected to yield social and environmental benefits as well as profits."

Resonance: A Framework for Philanthropic Transformation is a guide that, according to the announcement, seeks to inspire institutions to redistribute wealth, democratize power, and shift economic control to communities.

"One thing that is really important to building community and creating systems change is developing space that builds agency and power,” says Sage Crump, program specialist for the National Performance Network (NPN)'s initiative Leveraging a Network of Equity (LANE) in an article that addresses advancing systems change, transformative justice, and shifting power to achieve a justice ecosystem.

Funders supporting legacy institutions that use the arts to address social challenges and promote access across historically underserved populations is the topic of an article last year addressing the partnership between the William R. Kenan, Jr. Charitable Trust and New York City organizations to explore how arts organizations can better serve diverse communities.

In data, "many untold stories and futures are nestled between rows, columns, formulas, and colors on a spreadsheet," writes in a recent post Adriana Gallego, chief operating officer of the National Association of Latino Arts and Cultures (NALAC). In this piece she says how patterns remind her of how impactful Latine communities are.

As we welcome 2019, ideas around a more just and fair philanthropic field are inevitable. Dana Kawaoka-Chen, executive director for Justice Funders, says "we need a just transition in philanthropy that redistributes wealth, democratizes power, and shifts economic control to communities. In other words, we must transform our relationship to capital and to our communities."

More foundations are choosing to operate within a limited lifespan. For The Atlantic Philanthropies, "the commitment in 2002 to close its doors by 2020 reflected founder Chuck Feeney’s Giving While Living approach to philanthropy and his desire for the foundation’s funds to achieve maximum impact within that time frame and beyond."

A recent news article by Next City showcases the power of investing in the creative economy, focusing on Manhattan's La MaMa Experimental Theatre Club and its capital campaign.

Philadelphia was recently awarded $4 million by the MacArthur Foundation with the goal of decreasing the city’s jail population by 50 percent by 2020. The plan to cut the prison population comes after the city was able to surpass its original target reduction of 34 percent over three years, reported WHYY.

This year's Asian Venture Philanthropy Network (AVPN) conference in Singapore gave prominence to the topic of impact investing. It is no surprise considering that Asia sets an example on its use of capital for social ends, according to an article in Alliance magazine.