NOT saying that in-kind donations to charities are always wrong. In-kind donations are NOT at all always wrong. Donating to Goodwill means you help raise funds for their job training programs. Donating to ReStores means you help fund home building, homeowner education for underserved populations, neighborhood clean ups and more.

And, yes, there are some nonprofits that can make use of in-kind donations not to sell, but to donate to others in need. One of my favorite is Community Warehouse in Oregon, which does a masterful job of both managing donations (and they are very picky) and partnering with nonprofits to get clients (you can't just walk in without a referral) - reduces waste, helps keep warehouse inventory manageable and better ensures equity. This nonprofits Facebook page is one of my favorites as an example of excellent community outreach and awareness-buildiing. Many refugee agencies right in your own community are probably looking for furniture donations, but they are often looking for specific items, ones they can pick up and immediately deliver to a family that is moving into an apartment - they usually have zero storage space for such items.

So, yes, hurrah, in-kind donations.

But to those who say that in-kind donations are better than cash donations for nonprofits and that this is a "trend" that needs to be expanded, here are some articles that say otherwise (and I know so many nonprofit folks are nodding in agreement - in-kind donations don't pay staff, don't pay utility bills, don't pay for the copier rental, and on and on).

Your clothing donations are piling up in landfills and are being sold overseas. From Emory Wheel.

Why more clothes donated to charity are going in the garbage. From the CBC/Radio-Canada, Canada's public broadcaster.

Donation Dumping: The Hidden Harm to Nonprofits and the Environment. From CareIt.

The Second Disaster: Why Goodwill Goes Bad in a Disaster Zone. From Team Rubicon USA.

When In-Kind Donations Are Not Kind. From The Center for Disaster Philanthropy.

Why Cash Donations Help Food Banks More. From Feeding America.

Why Cash Donations are So Valuable to Food Banks. Los Angeles Regional Food Bank.

If anyone has an article about the keys to success for a charity that is based on in-kind, donations, by all means, post it. Or if you work at such a nonprofit and want to share your best practices (how you deal with donation bottlenecks, storage, inappropriate donations, refusing donations. after-hours dumping, equitable distribution, identifying who gets what, etc.), by all means, share it, since that is as much about managing philanthropy as what software to use to manage cash donations and how to properly engage volunteers.

I’ve been thinking about the shift from traditional philanthropy where donors fund nonprofits to community powered models where the act of giving becomes the intervention itself. A Sense of Home illustrates this: they ask people to donate surplus furniture and volunteer time to furnish homes for people experiencing homelessness. Over 1,600 homes furnished in a decade. What’s striking is that the founder, George Smith, has talked about how volunteering transforms givers as much as recipients. During the LA fires of 2025, they rapidly scaled this model for disaster response. I’m curious whether others are seeing this shift in philanthropy moving from ‘donors fund nonprofits’ to ‘communities co create solutions.’ Are we seeing more models that prioritize the relational aspect of giving over just dollars distributed? https://youtu.be/OVlepjhfsLY?is=AQHPmFaJ4FCI591r

A 2015 study, Where Do Men and Women Give? Gender Differences in the Motivations and Purposes for Charitable Giving, by the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy, found that:

• Women spread out their giving across various causes more so than men. Meanwhile, men tend to concentrate their giving.
• Households where women are in charge of making decisions are more likely to give by responding spontaneously to needs, believing their donation will make a difference and because of their political and philosophical beliefs.
• High-net-worth female donors are more likely than male donors to give when they believe their contribution will make a difference, know the organization allocates gifts effectively and want to give back to the community.
• Women donors prioritize women’s and human rights, and the environment. Meanwhile, men favor the economy and national security.

Of course these are sweeping generalizations and not true of each and every person.

Have there been any more recent studies on philanthropic financial giving by men and women in the USA?

Your thoughts?

Melinda French Gates has committed $10 million to match the initial $10 million donation from Olivia Rodrigo's inaugural Daisy Chain Fields festival, bringing the total funds raised to $20 million and counting for 10 nonprofit organizations supporting women and girls.

The money will benefit Baby2Baby, Black Mamas Matter Alliance, the Center For Reproductive Rights, FreeFrom, Jhpiego, Johns Hopkins Center For Indigenous Health, the National Domestic Workers Alliance, the National Institute For Reproductive Health, the National Women’s Law Center and Planned Parenthood.

All artists on the women-led line-up waived their performance fees, while 100 per cent of the festival’s net proceeds were also pledged to the partner organisations.

Inspired by Sarah McLachlan’s Lilith Fair festivals of the ’90s, Daisy Chain Fields brought together artists from multiple generations across two stages, with no overlapping performances. Alongside Rodrigo, the bill included Chappell Roan, Doechii, Mitski, Bikini Kill, The Breeders, Garbage, Santigold, Rachel Chinouriri, Die Spitz and others.

https://www.nme.com/news/music/melinda-french-gates-olivia-rodrigo-daisy-chain-fields-charity-total-20million-3965737

NOT ASKING YOU ALL FOR DONATIONS: A friend of a friend’s 6 year old daughter was paralyzed from the neck down by a baseball, at school. She now requires a med flight from Puerto Rico to Florida for specialty care and insurance won’t cover it. I donated all I can afford, I’ve shared it repeatedly via social media, and I’ve reached out to the organizer and advised them to try blue cross blue shield. Time is of the essence, but every time I check the page again, the progress is too slow for such a dire situation. What more can I do to help raise the money for this family? Any and all advice is welcome

For grantmakers, few things are as illuminating as seeing a nonprofit’s work up close. A site visit cuts through the paperwork, brings the work to life in a way no document can, and opens up conversations that simply don’t happen over email. But site visits are also high-stakes moments. They raise expectations, shape relationships, and set the tone for how a nonprofit sees your foundation. The difference between a productive site visit and an unproductive one often comes down to intention and preparation. Here’s what that looks like.

From Exponent Philanthropy.

Agree? Disagree? Your experience with such, either as a funder or the nonprofit being visited?

In a recent interview, Coinbase CEO Brian Armstrong said that he does not support charitable foundations, claiming they get captured ideologically. 

In the interview, Armstrong discussed how billionaires use foundations to rehabilitate their image. He pushed back against the idea that setting up charities is “noble” and claimed sometimes they do more harm than good.

The clip went viral, attracting a response from Elon Musk. The Tesla CEO agreed with Armstrong and, in a short reply, said:

Rather than returning the full $67 million owed to taxpayers, the DeSantis administration quietly rewrote the deal twice within two days in September 2024, ultimately siphoning $10 million to the Hope Florida Foundation, a controversial nonprofit tied to first lady Casey DeSantis.

The grand jury didn't mince words about what happened next.

"Nobody will take responsibility for deciding the $10 million of taxpayer money would go to Hope Florida," the report states.

Within 25 days of receiving the money, Hope Florida had funneled it out through two suspicious $5 million "grant" applications to groups that had been coached by Attorney General James Uthmeier, then DeSantis' chief of staff, to apply.

More delicious details of philanthropy gone bad from The Raw Story.

corruption, fraud, ehitcs, donations, funders, corruption

Exponent Philanthropy 2026 Annual Conference.

November 11 - 13, 2026, Portland, Oregon.

Join peers in lean philanthropy for 3 days of knowledge sharing, skill building, and connections—in Portland, Oregon. This event is designed for and by lean funders—those who give with few or no staff. "Here, you can let your guard down and talk about the problems affecting the causes and communities you care about most with those who can relate."

At the Exponent Philanthropy conference, you’ll find sessions that share the how-tos of:

• Catalytic philanthropy
• Equity-centered practices
• The fundamentals of foundation management that make work like this possible
• … and more.

Exponent Philanthropy programs are designed specifically for those who give with few or no staff and is led by skilled facilitators who understand different styles of philanthropy.

Senior fundraisers—the relationship architects, legacy builders, and mission storytellers who have spent careers learning the art of transformational giving—are retiring. Not only are we not replacing them, but we are failing to attract young professionals into the field. And as the pipeline narrows from both ends, the transactional, quota-driven, relentlessly metrics-obsessed culture we have built is accelerating the exodus of those still in the middle.

Without a fundamental cultural transformation in how we practice, recruit, and sustain fundraising as a vocation, the trend will only continue...

The chair left empty by the retiring major gifts officer, who spent 30 years building relationships with your community’s most generous families, will not be filled by better job postings. It will be filled by organizations that have built the kind of culture that makes a gifted young professional say: I want to spend my career here. I want to learn from these people. I want to be part of something that takes both the donor and the fundraiser seriously as full human beings.

More from the Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR).

There's a new subreddit, as of today, called r/ImpactConnect . "This community is created for people and organizations working to create positive social impact — across CSR, NGOs, nonprofits, volunteering, philanthropy, social entrepreneurship, sustainability, SDGs, government initiatives, and community development."

More details about the community and its rules can be found by going to the subreddit.

EDIT: Description of r/ImpactConnect has been altered. It's now focused only on India.

From the Nonprofit Quarterly on Facebook:

In 1995, Oseola McCarty, a Black Mississippi woman who spent her working life ironing clothes, retired with $280,000 saved.

She then donated $150,000 to fund scholarships for students seeking the education she never received.

Oseola McCarty is one of four Black women Ophelia Akanjo profiles across three centuries of everyday Black women investing in community.

By naming them as philanthropists, Akanjo corrects a philanthropic record that has too often treated Black women’s giving as duty, service, or kindness—but not philanthropy.

This Black Philanthropy Month, we honor Black women across centuries whose giving built possibilities they were often denied themselves.

The giving was never missing.

The recognition was.

Full article.

The official announcement:

Global icon and humanitarian, Dolly Parton, known to the world as a beloved singer, songwriter, philanthropist, actress, playwright, and author died peacefully today in Nashville, Tennessee. She was 80 years old.

Dolly is preceded in death by her beloved husband of 59 years Carl Thomas Dean (1942 – 2025), her mother Avie Lee Caroline Owens (1923 – 2003), and father, Robert Lee Parton, Sr. (1921 – 2000).

A rhinestone life that shone bright enough for the world to see, Dolly will forever stand as an inspiration not only through her timeless music and prolific songwriting, but also her wit, warmth, and kindness that made us all feel like family. Dolly Parton’s legacy is one of love, compassion, and resilience. With a seven-decade career, she inspired multiple generations of artists and fans with her music and an unwavering commitment to making the world a better place. Her songs will continue to resonate with people of all ages, and her philanthropic work will have a lasting impact.

At Dolly’s request, a small, private service will be held for immediate family. Dolly’s fans and friends from around the world are encouraged to pay tribute to Dolly on social media by tagging #DollyParton or by leaving a message at http://dollyparton.com

In lieu of flowers the family asks for donations to be made to Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library at http://imaginationlibrary.com .

From her Imagination Library web site:

About The Dollywood Foundation

The Dollywood Foundation was created in 1988 by Dolly Parton to inspire the children in her home county to achieve educational success. Initial efforts focused on decreasing the drop out rate in the county’s high school. In the early 90’s Dolly promised every 7th-grade and 8th-grade student she would personally give them $500 if they graduated from high school. This effort, called the Buddy Program, reduced the drop out rate for these two classes from 35% to 6%. More importantly, the program catalyzed the community to provide additional resources to sustain this improvement in the drop out rate.

In 1995, the Foundation implemented Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library in Sevier County, Tennessee. This monthly book gifting program for children under five focused on inspiring a love of books and reading for all preschool children in the county. What was founded as a local program grew into an international movement through the unique partnership among the Foundation, the publisher, the fulfillment centers and the thousands of local organizations who adopted the program. The Imagination Library continues to be the signature program of the Foundation.

Scholarships

The Foundation also offers five scholarships to the county’s high school seniors to help further their education at any accredited university. The Dolly Parton Scholarship is a $15,000 scholarship awarded annually at each high school. The scholarships are for students who have a dream they wish to pursue and who can successfully communicate their plan and commitment to realize their dreams.

The Foundation also administers several additional scholarships. In 2016, Dolly provided a $30,000 scholarship to a young girl in Arkansas to recognize the Imagination Library’s achievement of distributing books to 1 million children each month. Once she reaches 18 years of age in 2032 the scholarship will be $60,000.

The My People Fund®

On November 28, 2016, massive fires swept through the county destroying the homes of over
1,000 families in Sevier County.  Dolly asked the Foundation to lead the effort to distribute $1,000 per month for 6 months to the families who lost their primary residence. In two weeks, the Foundation created The My People Fund, designed the distribution process, and implemented the distribution. In May of 2017, the Foundation concluded the distribution with the announcement that over $12M had been raised and given to the families who lost their homes. Additional funds raised also provided one-time scholarships to high school seniors whose homes were lost to the fires.

I’m a very introverted guy. And I’ll admit,
I can find myself getting annoyed pretty easily with people and would not consider myself a people person by any means.
And yet, I feel compassionate and empathetic at the same time.
Any advice on how I can grow to serve others with a genuine and open heart?

To compete in the increasingly commercialized world of college sports, high profile university athletics programs might spend more than $40 million a year on talent acquisition, revenue sharing and other costs, according to experts. But, for instance, at the University of Louisville, in Kentucky, just five of Louisville’s 23 sports generate any revenue, according to the athletic department. Only football and men’s basketball turn profits.

A growing number of major conferences ′ public universities are creating nonprofits designed to help the athletic department leverage its brand to generate new revenue streams, to keep pace with the multibillion-dollar market around compensating athletes for the use of their name, image and likeness.

Clay Grayson's South Carolina law firm designed the legal architect behind many such models. He said he mostly hears from members of the Power Four. Those 67 schools tend to be the only ones with large, competitive enough programs to spend beyond the revenue-sharing cap of $21.3 million this year. His firm has helped create affiliated entities at an estimated one in seven schools competing in the Southeastern Conference, the Big Ten, the Atlantic Coast Conference and the Big 12.

His model strays from the traditional nonprofit. He proposes smaller, seven-person boards in order to expedite decision-making. 

It remains to be seen whether these new entities will alleviate donor pressure to bankroll costly football programs. Moreover, they raise the same question that murky NIL collectives did: what is the charitable purpose of an institution whose main goal is to generate more revenue for athletics?

The Internal Revenue Service decided many nonprofit NIL collectives were erroneously given charitable status. They served players, not the public good, so their activities were likely not exempt from taxes.

That financial interest has fatigued donors, according to consultants who advise schools on issues of NIL. They’re fielding more athletics solicitations even as universities continue fundraising for student scholarships, research projects and other functions.

It used to be that development officers could leverage donor interest in athletics to direct some funds towards academics. That’s not so nowadays, according to University of Pennsylvania professor Karen Weaver, a former athletic administrator who studies the evolving college sports landscape.

“Athletics doesn’t have a revenue problem. It has a spending problem,” Weaver said. “So, whatever dollar they bring in is gonna be spent on trying to get an advantage in athletics.”

Full story here: https://triblive.com/sports/cash-hungry-college-sports-programs-are-starting-nonprofits-to-make-money-to-stay-competitive/

Hi friends.

I’m seeking examples of research that tracks and analyzes total funding (private public philanthropic) to a field, with the goal of advancing said issue. Ideally public health / healthcare but open to any field.

A great example is by Treatment Action Group (TAG) work on tuberculosis. A decades-long research project called TB Research Funding Trends

Not wholly sure what I’m looking for or how to describe it. Throwing out a net

Thank you!

Two weeks ago, we had this story about Republican-based fundraising that some (me) consider predatory - and it's not that far off from what some nonprofits also have engaged in. And remember: for many individual donors, a political candidate is a cause every bit as much as a local initiative to help support youth sports.

Now from the "other side" - a study shows that Democratic Party focused “scam PACs” are preying on and, in some cases, likely literally bankrupting seniors by hammering them with fundraising. "How Democratic consultants, committees, and party leaders built a fundraising spam pipeline that funnels money from a captive pool of elderly donors into their own operations." The blog about this is called Hook & Squeeze.

Keywords: predatory, ethics, ethical

Some highlights from the World Giving Report's Donor Insights:

Six in ten people globally gave money to good causes in 2025, whether directly to people in need, to charity, or for religious reasons. People in Asia and Africa were the most likely to give money, while those in South America were the least likely.

On average, people donated 1% of their incomes in 2025. However, this varied between continents, with Africans donating the highest percentage of their incomes (1.6%) and Europeans donating the lowest (0.6%).

People in the Netherlands give the largest share of their donations to charities (79%), while people in the Democratic Republic of the Congo give the lowest (2%).

While they don't give much to charities, people in DR Congo do give the highest amounts via religious routes, with just less than half (46%) of the value of their donations taking place in this way. However, in Uruguay just 4% of the value of donations is made via religious routes.

In Morocco, people prioritise direct giving more than anywhere else in the world, with 77% of the value of their donations made in this way, compared with just 10% in the Netherlands.

The organizaton's 2025 data shows that generosity is positively influenced by a range of factors, operating at different levels. The organization has divided these into three groups, noting that each can impact others:

• Personal factors that are innate to individuals.
• Factors that charities are able to directly affect themselves, although issues like trust are highly nuanced and involve a number of other actors, like the media.
• Aspects of society that encourage or discourage greater generosity.

More on the three types of influences on generosity

Personal

• A stronger desire to make change to society.
• A deeper sense of belonging to a community.
• That donations are perceived as more affordable.

Societal

• An increased sense that giving is the social norm.
• A greater willingness to discuss giving with others.
• A heightened perception that the government encourages giving.

Charity-related

• A more positive view of how trustworthy charities are.
• A clearer sense of the impact that charities have locally.

Visit this page to read about three of the factors in more detail and download the full report for insight on all of them.

TLDR: What are some proven ways for a group of employees at a mid-to-large company to contribute their time and professional skills to the world in a meaningful way?

Hi team,

We’re looking for something that could be either a one-time event employees can organize themselves or, ideally, an ongoing/recurrent collaboration with an organization (or multiple) that could genuinely benefit from their skills.
A few things are already on our list:
- A company-wide financial donation drive
- Volunteering at soup kitchens
- Inviting students to the office and helping with resumes/career preparation

But we’d love to go beyond traditional volunteering opportunities and find ways to contribute our time and skills where they can have a meaningful or lasting impact.

One major constraint.
There is no existing budget to hire third-party organizations to organize events or manage the company’s philanthropy program. The initiative is employee-driven rather than leadership-driven.
The goal is not company branding or PR. Employees genuinely want to do something useful, but most of us have limited experience organizing effective philanthropic initiatives.

For those who have worked in philanthropy, nonprofits, employee volunteering, or similar programs: What have you seen work particularly well? What are some initiatives that sound good on paper but tend not to create much impact?
I’d especially appreciate recommendations for proven models, organizations that welcome skilled employee volunteers, or examples of employee-led programs that have worked well.

Wisdom from people who have been doing this for a while would be very much appreciated!

For this subreddit to be a community, not just a place where I post summaries of and links to philanthropy-related stories and resources, more people need to be participating.

Without violating any confidentiality agreements or making a nonprofit, funder or foundation look bad...

• You could talk about what you like most about your philanthropy-related work and what you dislike most about it.
• You could say what training has been most essential in doing your job as a fundraiser, event planner, grant researcher, proposal writer, manager in donor relations, or whatever you job is in relation to fundraising.
• You could say what training has been most essential in doing your job working with and supporting volunteers.
• Tell an interesting, funny or helpful story about coordinating a meeting with a foundation representative or corporate social responsibility manager that led to new funding or group volunteering or some other partnership.
• Talk about navigating a difficult relationship with a donor or long-time or high-profile volunteer.
• Talk about what you like about your CRM and what you wish was different.
• Talk about how you set your goals for each year - or how someone else sets those goals for you and how you feel about that.
• Talk about what you do, and don't, enjoy about fundraising events.
• Talk about unreasonable requests from funders and how you navigated such.
• If you work for a funding foundation or corporate giving program, talk about common mistakes you see among nonprofits that seek your support.
• Talk about collaborating with the person in charge of engaging and supporting volunteers and what works and what doesn't - or if you don't, why you don't.
• Praise your web site manager for being so supportive of your goals or complain about your web site manager not being supportive and what better support would look like.
• Talk about how you are leveraging social media in your fundraising - what's worked and what has not really paid off.
• Talk about how you are using AI in your philanthropic-related work.
• Talk about your biggest successes in philanthropy.
• Talk about your biggest challenges in philanthropy.
• Post about trends you are seeing at your program regarding donations.
• What you think is most important when looking for a fundraising manager
• How you honor financial donors or volunteers

I’d love to hear from people who have experience running or supporting small nonprofits.

I’m involved in a small organization working with vulnerable children and families, and one of the hardest parts isn’t only the work itself it’s finding people who genuinely connect with the mission and want to stand behind it long-term.

I’m trying to learn how smaller organizations can communicate their impact, build credibility, and develop relationships with potential supporters without making every post feel like “please donate.”

For those who have been through this:

What actually helped your organization turn strangers into long-term supporters?

Was it storytelling, showing measurable impact, community engagement, newsletters, social media, partnerships, or simply consistent transparency?

I’m especially interested in lessons from organizations that started with very limited resources. What do you wish you had known when you were starting?