Faculty Advisor and Former Faculty Co-Director Rob Reich joined @kqedforum.bsky.social to discuss the impact of private dollars on politics and public policy in San Francisco. Listen to the conversation or read the transcript. ⤵️

Who Pays for San Francisco? | KQED

We talk about the impact that money can have on local politics.

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A reentry initiative at New York City's Rikers Island illustrates the gap between evidence and outcomes directly. The intervention had a strong evidence base. The financing worked as designed. An independent evaluation found no impact.

When Evidence Isn’t Enough (SSIR)

If policy and spending decisions have become much more rigorous, why have outcomes still failed to improve?

ssir.org

"Economic growth ultimately comes from functioning markets rather than isolated investments. Yet there is a substantial difference between adopting the language of market building and actually changing the nature of how investments are sourced, assessed, and measured."

Market Creation Has Been Having a Moment. Now Comes the Hard Part (SSIR)

Shifting impact investment toward market creation means doing a lot more than changing how we talk about what we do.

ssir.org

New paper in @nature.com with @lukebeehewitt.bsky.social, @isaiasghezae.bsky.social, & @robbwiller.bsky.social: Can LLMs predict results of social science experiments? Across 70 experiments, we find a strong correspondence (r=.85) between predicted and observed effects. doi.org/10.1038/s415... 🧵

"There is not an easy 'how-to' guide to accelerate the flow of philanthropy. That said, there are glimmers of possibility—emerging ideas, practices, and developments that may help or point toward new ways of thinking about the challenge."

Slow Philanthropy (SSIR)

Amid much discussion about the future of philanthropy, one mystery deserves more attention: Why does the giving of so many ultra-wealthy people lag far behind the aspirations they express?

ssir.org

"Many nonprofits are data-rich but insight-poor. That means they collect vast amounts of information—for compliance, in CRM systems, health records, or program logs—but lack the internal capability to turn that data into a road map for their mission."

Closing the Data-Utilization Gap (SSIR)

How nonprofits can build the data infrastructure to analyze what they already know

ssir.org

We are pleased to welcome Zaina Samara and Luv Jawahrani as our Summer 2026 VPUE Undergraduate Researchers! They will spend the summer working closely with PACS Faculty Affiliate Meira Levinson on a research project exploring the ethical and policy dimensions of educational authority. Learn more ⤵️

Welcoming PACS Summer 2026 VPUE Undergraduate Researchers

stanford.io

Last call for early-bird pricing! Apply by August 1 for the early-registration discount of $1000 off our best-in-class Education for Philanthropy Professionals program. 🔗 stanford.io/3RpuIpV #Philanthropy #EffectivePhilanthropy

"In the face of these conditions, our philanthropic responsibility has had to evolve, to balance mitigating immediate harm with advancing long-term mission. How to act decisively amid legal and political uncertainty? This is our new reality. Every one of us must adapt and respond."

No City Stands Alone (SSIR)

Lessons from Los Angeles, Chicago, and Minneapolis on defending our neighbors and democracy

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"For years, organizers and leaders had been inviting people into public life through relationships: sharing stories, listening across differences, analyzing power, moving institutions, and taking action. Those practices can seem ordinary when the stakes are lower. In crisis, they become protection."

Protecting Our Neighbors (SSIR)

Building power in communities now will protect them from the next threat to democracy.

ssir.org

well, I never expected to be published in a Stanford journal, but the McKnight Foundation asked me write my thesis to the philanthropic world after the MN ICE surge: when there is an emergency, just... give money to people on the ground doing the actual work. as fast as possible. radical, I know.

Giving Can Be Simple (And During a Crisis, It Must Be) (SSIR)

When the village cannot wait, philanthropy must learn from community.

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Is your grant strategy meeting the moment, or do you need to change direction? New on our #PACSSummit blog, Advisory Board Member Kathy Kwan shares her updated questions for funders to consider—for reflection and action—as part of their giving journey. 🔗 stanford.io/4fn9rFu #Philanthropy

Apply now for our Fall 2026 #EPP program to earn your Stanford PACS Certificate of Effective #Philanthropy and move forward with new knowledge, networks, and strategies for success. 🔗 stanford.io/3RpuIpV

"I am not famous. I do not work in philanthropy. I am a woman who grew up in public housing in South Minneapolis. My net worth is negative. And yet in May of 2026, Time named me one of its 100 most influential leaders in philanthropy..."

Giving Can Be Simple (And During a Crisis, It Must Be) (SSIR)

When the village cannot wait, philanthropy must learn from community.

ssir.org

"Universities can assume a leading role using concrete, catalytic mechanisms that enhance and drive change larger than themselves." Lessons from Tecnológico de Monterrey, the Mexican university that has deeply integrated sustainability into the school’s culture and educational model:

Catalyzing Climate Action Through Universities (SSIR)

Ruta Azul, the sustainability and climate action plan of the Mexican university Tecnológico de Monterrey, has integrated sustainability into the school’s culture and educational m...

ssir.org

When many democracies are backsliding, what enables career bureaucrats to resist anti-democratic demands from politically appointed superiors? A team of researchers used Brazil under Bolsonaro as a case study, examining what happened when appointees took over previously nonpolitical agencies.

Why Bureaucrats Defend Democracy (SSIR)

Civil servants are more likely to resist authoritarianism when they are supported by peers, ombuds offices, and professional associations.

ssir.org

On Oct 1, 2025, the US federal government shut down. Among the many consequences was an unprecedented crisis: For the first time in its history, SNAP was poised to suspend benefits to 42 million Americans. In SF, that meant 112,000 residents suddenly faced the prospect of losing food assistance.

When the Safety Net Fails (SSIR)

How an innovative public-private partnership responded rapidly to keep 82,000 families fed during a government shutdown.

ssir.org

Asha Curran, CEO of @givingtuesday.bsky.social and former Stanford PACS Practitioner Fellow, spoke with Vox about how the #giving landscape has changed from the early days of social media to today's more fractured and polarized online ecosystem.

How generosity became cringe

The internet once enabled our culture of giving. Now it just makes us angry.

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Join us and the Center for Sustainable Finance and Private Wealth on July 8 for a free webinar exploring strategies for aligning #philanthropy and #investing for impact. 🔗 bit.ly/4b1wHY8

🎙️ NEW CASBS PODCAST EPISODE "Immigrant Cities and Democracy's Future" Audio of a CASBS event held in May. With CASBS board member & fmr fellow Tomás Jiménez, Oxford economist & 2025-26 fellow @iangoldin.bsky.social & Welcoming America exec dir Rachel Perić 🎧 bit.ly/4xKOaOm or on any podcast app 😏

Excited to share the cover and an early endorsement from @rebeccasolnit.bsky.social for my forthcoming book, "The Carbon Wave." It's out Sept. 1! Preorders help the book travel further. The book is on sale this week with free shipping at Bookshop. Order your copy today! bookshop.org/p/books/the-...

Former Stanford PACS PhD Fellow @salmamousa.bsky.social is an assistant professor of political science at UCLA, where she serves on the Bedari Kindness Institute’s faculty advisory committee and leads research on #SocialCohesion, religious integration, and conflict resolution. #PACSFellows

In the United States, arts and culture work has long relied more on philanthropy and civil society than government support. The organizations that support bookstores usually do so within the constraints of the for-profit model.

Sustaining Independent Bookstores (SSIR)

How financial models that support long-term resilience and sustainability are helping local bookstores across the United States strengthen their role as Main Street anchors. | This article is free to ...

ssir.org

What responsibilities accompany extraordinary wealth in a time of civic decline? In @ssir.org, Priya Shanker discusses the potential for #CivicLeadership in today's era of billionaire #philanthropy and why the cross-sector, coalition-building work of legacy foundations may point the way forward.

New in @ssir.org, Stanford PACS Executive Director Priya Shanker discusses the roles of civic leadership and foundation expertise in this evolving era of billionaire #philanthropy ⤵️

Stanford Social Innovation Review@ssir.org · 2mo ago

"The defining challenge for this new generation of billionaire philanthropists is therefore not simply determining what to fund but how to exercise influence in a society where trust is fragile and legitimacy cannot be bought." — Priya Shanker of @stanfordpacs.bsky.social

Following the U.S. Supreme Court’s ruling in Louisiana v. Callais, Faculty Affiliate @persily.bsky.social joined the Stanford Legal podcast to discuss the decision and its implications for racial representation, partisan gerrymandering, and anti-discrimination law. Listen via @law.stanford.edu ⤵️

Voting Rights at a Turning Point | Stanford Law School

law.stanford.edu

"We hadn’t done user research or tried to optimize an experience. We had identified an invisible social rule that every previous intervention had either missed or accepted as fixed. And then we designed a mechanism that worked with the culture, instead of against it. That’s norm design."

Norm Design Is the Next Stage in Design Thinking

To solve problems that don't want to be solved, design for the unspoken social conventions that hold them in place.

ssir.org

Stanford PACS Faculty Advisor @robreich.bsky.social joined the Council on AI Governance’s AI Rules podcast to discuss the evolving landscape of #AI governance, the national security risks posed by frontier models, how to involve #CivilSociety in setting standards, and more. 🔗 podcast.caigov.org

Investing in refugee-led enterprises, companies supporting refugees, and the communities welcoming them can transform tragedy into economic and social gain for all. Read this new in-depth feature from our Summer 2026 issue.

Building the Refugee Economy (SSIR)

As humanitarian aid agencies buckle under the collapse of financial support, the private sector must step in to invest in refugees and integrate them into the economy. We review three models of succes...

ssir.org

Glad to see this WP from our lab out today, a labor of love over last year. Kudos to @davidbroska.bsky.social and @jonnekamphorst.bsky.social for their hard work on it! Please share any comments, suggestions, or criticisms of the research. All are welcome!

davidbroska.bsky.social@davidbroska.bsky.social · 2mo ago

Americans say they want less inequality. Why don’t they support policies to reduce it? New paper: across 31 nationally representative survey waves (N=384,248) and a preregistered experiment (N=1,009), Americans favor PREdistributive over REdistributive policies 🧵 osf.io/preprints/so...