Today's Philanthropy Pulse
UNFI Foundation’s Charity Classic hits record $1.1M for food‑access grants
The annual Charity Classic golf event raised a record $1.1M, surpassing previous years’ totals. The fundraiser will allocate $50,000 grants to each of 22 grantees, supporting both rapid emergency relief and long‑term local food‑system resilience.
Ad Council Launches $148M Digital PSA Blitz to Spark Teen Mental‑health Talks
The American Foundation for Suicide Prevention, NAMI and the Ad Council unveiled fresh "Seize the Awkward" public‑service ads on May 5, 2026, deploying $148 million in donated media across broadcast, digital, social and out‑of‑home channels. Partnered with Pinterest, Snapchat and TikTok, the effort aims to turn awkward moments into mental‑health check‑ins for U.S. teens and young adults.
Aid Money Often Leaves Countries Worse Off Than Before
It’s honestly wild visiting countries where we’ve dumped trillions of taxpayer and nonprofit dollars - and billions of labor hours from various aid organizations - and they are worse off than they were before
25 Years of Community-First Work Prepares BCBSNC Foundation for a Strained Health System: Colleen Briggs, MBA
The Blue Cross and Blue Shield of North Carolina Foundation celebrated its 25th anniversary, highlighting a legacy of deep community partnerships built on a 90‑year Blue Cross presence. President Colleen Briggs said the foundation is expanding beyond traditional philanthropy by...
Braswell Family Farms, Food City Partner To Support Coalition For Kids
Braswell Family Farms has partnered with Food City to donate ten cents for every dozen Natural Choice cage‑free white eggs sold at participating stores, with the campaign running through March 2027. The initiative aims to raise more than $200,000 for...
HTeaO Partners with Alex’s Lemonade Stand Foundation for May Fundraiser
Iced‑tea franchise HTeaO is teaming with Alex's Lemonade Stand Foundation for a month‑long fundraiser in May. Starting May 1, customers can round up their purchase to the nearest dollar, and the chain will swap its blue straws for yellow ones to...
Primark Suits up the Stars for Soccer Aid for UNICEF’s 20th Anniversary
Primark is back as the official outfitter for Soccer Aid’s 20th‑anniversary match at London Stadium, dressing celebrities and football legends in its new tailoring range. From 1 May to match day, UK stores will collect £1‑plus donations at tills, and the...
Beyoncé’s Cécred and BeyGOOD Foundation Team up to Support Next Generation of Hairstylists
Beyoncé’s hair‑care brand Cécred and her BeyGOOD Foundation have launched the third year of the Cécred × BeyGOOD Fund, extending financial aid to aspiring stylists in the United States and the United Kingdom. The program will award ten partner schools a $25,000...
Bestseller Pledges $3m to Support Regen Agriculture in South Africa
Bestseller has committed $3 million to the Regenerative Fund for Nature, a partnership originally launched by Conservation International and Kering and later joined by Inditex. The money will support projects in South Africa’s Eastern Cape that restore grasslands, improve soil health,...
Give More But Pay Less: An Essential Guide to Tax-Smart Charitable Giving in 2026
The 2026 tax year introduces the One Big Beautiful Bill Act (OBBBA), which limits deductible charitable contributions to amounts exceeding 0.5 % of adjusted gross income and caps overall itemized deductions at 35 % for taxpayers in the top 37 % bracket. Cash...
Bereaved Parents Charity Seeks £90,000 in Funding to Prevent Closure
Love, Jasmine, a Liverpool charity supporting bereaved parents, faces closure after its National Lottery grant of £90,000 (≈$114,000) ends, representing 35‑40% of its annual budget. The charity reported £215,437 (≈$274,000) in income and £214,772 (≈$273,000) in spending for the year...
Gala Raises $10M Extra, Securing Costume Institute Independence
You can hate the dresses, but at the end of the day the event was a success. The Gala raised $10 million more than last year, which will all go into making The Costume Institute fully independent and self-endowed.
Capacity Is Tested in Transition: Interim Leadership as Nonprofit Infrastructure
Leadership transitions are becoming a critical capacity‑building moment for nonprofits, according to the 2025 *Interim Leadership in the Nonprofit Sector* report commissioned by Third Sector Company. The study, based on insights from over 100 practitioners in the United States and Canada,...
Pennsylvania Jewish Health Foundation Launches $0 Statewide Teen Mental‑Health Initiative
The Pennsylvania Jewish Health Foundation (JHF) convened more than 50 community organizations covering 61 counties to launch a statewide teen mental‑health initiative. The coalition aims to expand funding, prevention and early‑intervention services as recent data show 37% of Pennsylvania teens...
Anti-Poverty Program Is Effective Even in One of the World's Toughest Settings
A USAID‑funded "graduation" program delivered cash, coaching and asset transfers to 5,000 ultra‑poor households in Baidoa, Somalia, from 2021‑2024. Participants received six monthly $42.50 cash grants and could choose a one‑time asset, most opting for goats. Follow‑up research shows 68%...
Philanthropy Talk Is Now Standard in Wealth Advising — but Advisors Are Still Misreading Client Motivations
A 2026 study of 300 advisors and 103 high‑net‑worth clients shows that 90% of advisors now routinely raise philanthropy, and 99% deem the conversation important. Yet client satisfaction remains modest at 61%, reflecting a gap between advisor assumptions and donor...
Fundraising Tip of the Week | May 4, 2026
The latest Fundraising Tip of the Week advises nonprofits to prioritize small, intimate donor gatherings over large, flashy events. It argues that donors seek meaningful experiences, personal access, and a sense of purpose that are best delivered in low‑scale settings....
AFP Developing Guidelines For Fundraising Platforms After High Profile Problems
The Association of Fundraising Professionals (AFP) issued a set of five guidelines for online fundraising platforms after the Flipcause bankruptcy and state investigations into GoFundMe’s handling of charity pages. The considerations focus on fee transparency, discoverability, responsible data use, fund...
Higher Ed Rules, Healthcare Sags When It Comes To Major Gifts
The 2025 10M+ Gifts Report shows higher education dominated major philanthropy, capturing 71 percent of donations over $10 million—about $10 billion, the highest share since 2018. Healthcare nonprofits fell to $1.7 billion, the first sub‑$2 billion year since 2020, while arts funding normalized at 5 percent. Planned...
Top Traders Unite, Donate Millions to Mental Health
Traders doing good, together 🤝 🎗️ In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month Prop Trader Fest is happening Saturday, May 9th 👉 https://t.co/F0D9XfiW1I ✅ 20+ top traders donating their time ✅ $2.5 MILLION in prop firm giveaways ✅ 100% of replay donations go to Project Healthy...
Finding New Donors for Your Nonprofit: A How-To Guide
Nonprofits must tailor donor acquisition strategies to the size of gifts they seek. Small‑dollar donors are best reached through broad digital channels, while mid‑level donors benefit from targeted outreach and major donors require intensive research and personalized cultivation. The guide...
Failure as a KPI: Finding Philanthropy’s Courage to Fund and Fail (and Talk About It!)
The piece urges the philanthropy sector to treat failure as a key performance indicator, borrowing the risk‑capital mindset of venture capital. It proposes measuring the percentage of initiatives that fail, documenting lessons, and publicly sharing those insights. By designing grantmaking...
How the Radical Fund Sustained Radical Imagination
John Fabian Witt’s *The Radical Fund* chronicles the 1920s American Fund for Public Service, revealing how a modest million‑dollar endowment helped radical organizers confront capitalism, white nationalism, and media dominance. The book argues that philanthropy must move beyond elite‑centric narratives,...
Warm up Donors Before Asking: Email First, Donate Later
Asking someone to donate the first time they hear about you is roughly the same as proposing marriage on a first date. It doesn't work, and everyone involved knows it doesn't work, but we keep doing it anyway. Cold advertising that...
How Earned Media Supports Nonprofit Authority in a World Powered by AI
Nonprofit organizations are losing control of first‑contact impressions as AI‑generated summaries and third‑party citations replace direct website visits. Generative Engine Optimization (GEO) now prioritizes earned‑media placements, making credible external coverage essential for AI‑driven search visibility. To thrive, nonprofits must craft...
Billionaire Influence Dominates Skoll Forum, Yet Unspoken
Billionaire influence could be found everywhere at this year’s Skoll World Forum, but for all that, there was little talk of their growing power. Michael Kavate Reports: https://tinyurl.com/yckxukya Related IP Resources: Skoll Foundation -https://tinyurl.com/mtkah795 Major Donors: A Guide to Securing Major Gifts -https://tinyurl.com/49w7jx3e How to...
Shorten Mobile Donation Forms, Front‑Load Pay Options
Sixty percent of donation traffic on a site I am reviewing comes in on mobile. Seventy-five percent of those people start the donation process and don't finish it. That's not a small leak. That's the bucket having no bottom. The frustrating...
Mandel Foundation Commits $125M to Case Western Reserve
The Mandel Foundation has pledged $125 million to Case Western Reserve University, the largest single gift in its 73‑year history and the biggest ever for higher education in Ohio. The donation will fund a new 50,000‑square‑foot humanities building, double scholarships for...
Unlocking Foundation Tax Data to Trace Money Flows
Excited to have broken through on a long-time project of mine: figuring out a way to aggregate foundation tax return data to see how the money flows. Opening the Trillion-Dollar Black Box: How I Tapped Into Foundation Tax Return Data...
Mrs Mangel Portrait Pulls $19,500 for Dementia Australia
The iconic Mrs Mangel portrait from the Australian soap "Neighbours" sold for AU$19,500 (approximately US$12,900) after a week‑long online auction that attracted 104 bids. A buyer from the United Kingdom secured the piece, with participants spanning the US, Singapore, Italy,...
G Adventures Spotlights How Tree Growing Is Transforming Lives, Not Just Landscapes
G Adventures has broadened its Trees for Days program to 22 community partners, impacting over 200,000 people and aiming for six million trees under active stewardship by next month. The initiative emphasizes long‑term tree growth tied to livelihood creation, women’s economic...
Schwab Maps the IRA Move that Funds Charity and Pays You
Charles Schwab explains how the SECURE 2.0 Act lets IRA owners age 70½ and older fund charitable gift annuities (CGAs) using pretax retirement dollars. The new law permits a one‑time qualified charitable distribution (QCD) of up to $54,000 in 2025, counting...
Father‑Son Duo Sets Three Guinness World Records on 30,000‑km Charity Ride
George Kohler, 57, and his 23‑year‑old son Josh returned to Norfolk after a 400‑day, 30,000km global cycling expedition. The pair secured three Guinness World Records and raised more than £40,000 (about $51,000) for UNICEF UK, highlighting the power of father‑son...
About Half Needing Cataract Surgery Lack Access. How This Is Changing
The Lancet Global Health study shows only about half of the 94 million people needing cataract surgery have access, with global coverage at 48.2 % in 2025. Bloomberg Philanthropies' Vision Initiative, launched in May 2025 with a $75 million commitment, has already facilitated over...
Kentucky Derby Party Raises Funds for Bina Farm
Fun evening at the Kentucky Derby Party at The Newbury Boston to support Bina Farm.🌹 https://t.co/UujCmzgJYh
Reclaiming Chicago Adds 10 Roseland Homes, Showcasing Community‑Led Leadership
The Reclaiming Chicago coalition broke ground on 10 new homes in Roseland, raising its completed‑home count to 90. Backed by $52 million in fundraising and $50,000 down‑payment assistance per buyer, the project illustrates how coordinated leadership among nonprofits, lenders, and residents...
New Donor-Advised Fund Changes Unveiled in WSJ Report
@Saunderswsj and @wsj report on some recent developments with donor-advised funds. I'm sharing this as a gift article, so it should be outside of the paywall. https://t.co/LYtsAV36Vh
Paralysed Ex‑Serviceman Hand‑Cycles 435‑Mile Trek to Everest Base Camp
Ollie Thorn, a 37‑year‑old former Surrey serviceman paralysed from the chest down, completed a 435‑mile hand‑cycle expedition to Everest Base Camp. The two‑week journey raised about £35,000 (≈ $44,500) for spinal‑cord injury research and marks the first known hand‑cycle ascent of...
James Beard Foundation Secures Multi‑Year Sponsorship with American Express and Resy for 2026 Awards
The James Beard Foundation has entered a multi‑year partnership with American Express and Resy, naming them presenting sponsors of the 2026 James Beard Awards in Chicago. The deal also extends to the foundation’s Taste America series and year‑round programming, aiming...
AiEDU Unveils $25K‑$50K Grants to Boost AI Literacy in Rural and Indigenous Schools
The AI Education Project (aiEDU) launched its 2026 Community Catalyst Program, offering $25,000 and $50,000 grants to school districts, charter groups and nonprofits serving rural and Indigenous communities. The initiative builds on a 2025 rollout that reached more than 213,000...
'Law & Order: SVU' Actress, Mariska Hargitay's End The Backlog Campaign Achieves Rape Kit Reform In All 50 States
After 16 years of advocacy, the Joyful Heart Foundation’s End the Backlog campaign has secured rape‑kit reform legislation in every U.S. state, Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico, with Maine becoming the final state to act. The initiative, championed by "Law & Order:...
Anihan Technical School Marks 40 Years with Fundraising Event for Women’s Education
Anihan Technical School, a 40‑year‑old nonprofit in Laguna, Philippines, is hosting a benefit lunch on June 7, 2026 to fund scholarships and a kitchen‑lab upgrade. The "Anihan @40: A Milestone of Harvesting Dreams" event aims to raise money for 40...
Progressive Megadonors Commit Tens of Millions to Boost Creator‑Driven Media
The Democracy Alliance, the liberal donor network, announced a plan to invest tens of millions of dollars in creator‑focused media after a three‑day retreat in New Mexico. The move targets young audiences and seeks to counter decades of conservative cultural...
Hong Kong Celebrities Unite for Children S Advocacy Campaign
Save the Children Hong Kong has launched the “Safe Start for Little Seed” campaign, a city‑wide drive to embed a zero‑tolerance culture for child abuse. The initiative is fronted by local celebrities—including Alice Fung, Phil Lam, Sean Wong and Grace Chan—who are urging...
National Gallery of Art Secures $116 Million Gift to Expand Nationwide Lending Program
The National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C., has been given a $116 million endowment by the Mitchell P. Rales Family Foundation. The gift will permanently fund the museum’s Across the Nation lending programme, allowing long‑term, cost‑free loans to regional institutions...
Fidelity and Vanguard Freeze SPLC Grants After Federal Indictment
Fidelity Charitable and Vanguard Charitable announced they will no longer issue grants to the Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC) after a federal grand jury indicted the nonprofit on wire fraud, bank fraud and conspiracy charges. Both donor‑advised fund sponsors cited...
Schwab Affiliate Halts Customer Donations to Southern Poverty Law Center
Charles Schwab’s donor‑advised fund, DAFgiving360, has suspended account holders’ ability to recommend grants to the Southern Poverty Law Center following a Justice Department indictment alleging financial crimes. The move aligns with similar actions taken by Fidelity and Vanguard‑branded donor‑advised funds,...
Guatemala Deploys AI Sensors to Spot Illegal Deforestation in Real Time
Guatemala’s Wildlife Conservation Society (WCS) has begun a pilot that uses AI‑driven acoustic sensors to detect illegal deforestation and hunting in the Maya Biosphere Reserve. Funded by a $2 million grant from the Bezos Earth Fund’s $100 million AI for Climate and...
Final Gift Secures Perpetual Funding, Offers Grantmaking Lessons
The Clark Foundation's final gift to the National Institute for Student Success strengthened its long-term financial stability. What are some lessons for other grantmakers? Mike Scutari Reports: https://tinyurl.com/2p9wzt2b Related IP Resources: What Do the Terms “Perpetuity” and “Spend Down” Mean? -https://tinyurl.com/39dexasw What is Multi-year...
DAF Donations Yield No Personal Gain; Fidelity, Vanguard Funded OpenAI
This - you are not allowed to derive any tangible benefit (other than a nice thank-you note) from monies donated by a DAF at your direction. Elon himself never gave money to Open AI. The actual donors were Fidelity...
Founders' Mental Health Crisis: 72% Affected, 81% Silent
72% of founders say startup life has hurt their mental health. 81% never talk about it. I'm matching donations to the Kabila Founder Mental Health Fund up to $25K through May. Free Chapter 4 download (my mental health story). https://t.co/0pB7XWRv4w