NEW @propublica.org: A quarter of all individual giving in the U.S. is made through donor-advised funds. We uncovered troubling inconsistencies in how some DAF sponsors applied their policies and found that donors and charities are routinely left in the dark. www.propublica.org/article/dono...

Wall Street’s Nonprofits Use Selective, Opaque Logic to Defund Charities

A quarter of all individual giving in the U.S. is made through donor-advised funds. A ProPublica investigation reveals how these high-stakes decisions to cut off funding often leave charities, donors ...

propublica.org

"what is at first glance a case of hypocrisy at a single sponsor warns of what can happen when financial institutions position themselves at crucial choke points of democracy." great piece by @dpetegorsky.bsky.social on DAF sponsors, SPLC, + leonard leo: inequality.org/article/schw...

The Shameful Hypocrisy of Schwab’s Donor-Advised Fund Affiliate - Inequality.org

Southern Poverty Law Center was targeted by a weaponized DOJ and commercial DAFs paused grantmaking to them. That's a dangerous choice.

inequality.org

TODAY at 3:00 ET! If you’re serious about the future of giving, don’t miss this one.

Institute for Policy Studies@ips-dc.org · 6mo ago

NEW: In his new book CONTROL, @glengalaich.bsky.social asks whether philanthropy isn’t just about generosity, but about who gets to decide? Monday 3/30, join his unfiltered conversation on the future of giving with IPS scholar @bdevaan.bsky.social. Register: www.linkedin.com/events/money...

Get ready for a shakeup in the world of donor-advised funds www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/the-com...

The Coming DAFpocalypse

The Policy Director of IPS's Charity Reform Initiative predicts the number of donor-advised funds will shrink in the years to come.

insidephilanthropy.com

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"Making money has always been easier for Mr. Ellison than giving it away. In the past, Mr. Ellison has often announced sweeping charitable plans — then changed his mind or fired the people he hired to execute them." www.nytimes.com/2025/08/12/b...

Larry Ellison Wants to Do Good, Do Research and Make a Profit

nytimes.com

NEW: In 2010, 57 billionaires pledged to give away at least half of their wealth. In the 15 years since, 32 of them have instead collectively grown 283% wealthier. “We must enact measures to ensure more donations actually reach working charities,” says IPS scholar @bdevaan.bsky.social:

IPS’s Giving Pledge at 15 report: wealth growing alarmingly faster than it’s given away - the Giving Review

Warns of coming supercharged dynastic philanthropy.

thegivingreview.com

NEW: Hundreds of rich people have signed the Giving Pledge to donate half of their wealth. 15 years on, their lack of progress shows our critical need to fix philanthropy — and tax them more. REPORT by @chuck77.bsky.social, @bdevaan.bsky.social, @helenofips.bsky.social and @dpetegorsky.bsky.social:

The Giving Pledge at 15

15 years on, the Giving Pledge is unfulfilled, unfulfillable, and not our ticket to a fairer, better future.

ips-dc.org

NEW: Private foundations and donor-advised funds (DAFs) steward some $1.7 trillion in assets. As nonprofits lose funding, many are hoarding this wealth — but some are stepping up. IPS @inequality.org scholars @bdevaan.bsky.social and @chuck77.bsky.social in @npquarterly.bsky.social:

Meet the Donor-Advised Funds That Are Meeting the Moment - Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly

Amid an unprecedented attack in an already precarious funding landscape, some DAFs provide affirmative examples for how the whole sector should operate.

nonprofitquarterly.org

New Study Shines a Light on the Impact of Donor-Advised Funds nonprofitquarterly.org/new-study-sh... @chuck77.bsky.social‬ @helenofips.bsky.social‬ @ips-dc.org #nonprofits

New Study Shines a Light on the Impact of Donor-Advised Funds - Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly

Where do DAF dollars go—and how quickly do these donor dollars actually arrive at operating nonprofits? The answers, derived from a new study, may be surprising.

nonprofitquarterly.org

It's out! The 1st-ever independent rep't on donor-advised funds, w. REAL percentages for what goes out in grants (not much) & the REAL average size of individual DAFs (huge!). Well done, @chuckcollins.bsky.social @helenofips.bsky.social Dan Petegorsky & Bella DeVaan! inequality.org/article/the-...

The Independent Report on DAFs

Demystifying donor-advised funds and their impacts on charitable giving, fair taxation, and our democracy itself.

inequality.org

Excited to share our Charity Reform Initiative's first Independent Report on DAFs! @chuck77.bsky.social @helenofips.bsky.social @dpetegorsky.bsky.social and I seek to shed a little more light on the flow of these tax-benefited billions... @ips-dc.org @inequality.org inequality.org/article/the-...

The Independent Report on DAFs

Demystifying donor-advised funds and their impacts on charitable giving, fair taxation, and our democracy itself.

inequality.org

NEW: Thirty years ago, donor-advised funds (DAFs) were obscure giving vehicles. Today, they’re central in U.S. charitable giving, and many are tied to giant wealth management firms. Our @inequality.org team looked at impacts on giving, fair taxation, and democracy itself. KEY FINDINGS: 🧵

The Independent Report on DAFs

Demystifying donor-advised funds and their impacts on charitable giving, fair taxation, and our democracy itself.

ips-dc.org

Terry was scammed out of most of his savings and was supposed to get his money back—until Donald Trump and Elon Musk gut the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau. Part one:

The stakes of the 2025 tax fight couldn’t be higher. Republicans want to give massive tax breaks to billionaires by jacking up costs on hardworking families. We’re the campaign that’s going to stop them 🧵

Dems launch group to hit Trump on tax cuts

Organizers say the nonprofit will be backed by an eight-figure funding campaign

politico.com

had some thoughts on this talkingpointsmemo.com/edblog/sprin...

Springtime for Billionaires

As of Friday evening it appears that the Trump/Musk GOP has managed to put out, or at least move to “controlled” status, the wildfire they lit for no particular reason earlier in the week.

talkingpointsmemo.com

It might seem obvious now, but maybe having a prominent donor-advised fund (DAF) sponsor be the authoritative voice on DAF trends was a mistake. inequality.org/article/daf-...

DAF Trends or DAF Spin? - Inequality.org

One of the country's largest donor-advised fund sponsors publishes an annual report that demands a closer look.

inequality.org

"Philanthropic cakeism" is changing how the wealthy give www.axios.com/2024/12/16/p...

Billionaires like Musk give to charity and get something from it too

"Philanthropic cakeism" is the new paradigm for donors.

axios.com

The NYT just found that Musk’s charity has been shirking it’s responsibility to the tune of 400 million. He is not alone. Read @michaelmechanic.bsky.social’s investigation into the widespread practice from earlier this year.

Philanthropy in America is broken

We taxpayers heavily subsidize ultrawealthy giving. But who really benefits?

motherjones.com

Trump transition team wants to scrap crash reporting requirement opposed by Elon Musk's automaker, Tesla. www.cnbc.com/2024/12/13/t... via CNBC by Reuters Jarrett Renshaw, Rachael Levy and Chris Kirkham

Trump transition wants to scrap crash reporting requirement opposed by Tesla: Reuters

Musk, the world's richest person, spent more than a quarter of a billion dollars helping Trump get elected president in November.

cnbc.com

You get tax benefits for putting your money in a foundation but then you have to actually give your money away. Musk is taking advantage of the tax benefits while not giving away his money This year he’s $421 million short of the minimum

Musk’s Foundation Gave Away Less Money Than Required in 2023

Private foundations must donate 5 percent of their assets every year. Elon Musk’s enormous charity missed that standard for three consecutive years.

nytimes.com

Right now, $1.7 trillion in donations is sitting in private foundations and DAFs — money that's needed by working charities. Popular philanthropy reforms could get this money flowing to nonprofits faster. IPS @inequality.bsky.social scholars Chuck Collins and @bdevaan.bsky.social: #nonprofitsky

Let’s Make This a Season of Giving, Not Hoarding - OtherWords

Billionaires and Wall Street exploit our charitable giving laws to dodge taxes and collect fees, hurting real charities in the process.

otherwords.org

Also, if anyone is curious whether this is just a few rich families, our soon-to-be public working paper finds that a plausible estimate is that ~8% to 9% of *all U.S. wealth* is inside trusts held by the super-rich that will never, ever pay estate or gift tax.

Jesse Drucker@jessedrucker.bsky.social · 2y ago

My article today - How one of the world's richest men, Nvidia's CEO Jensen Huang, is on pace to dodge $8 billion in taxes: www.nytimes.com/2024/12/05/b...

...and here's how one of them is avoiding $8 billion [sic] in taxes. www.nytimes.com/2024/12/05/b...

How Jensen Huang, CEO of Nvidia, Is Avoiding Billions in Taxes

The chief executive of Nvidia, Jensen Huang, has taken advantage of popular loopholes in the federal estate and gift taxes, which have quietly been eviscerated.

nytimes.com

Institute for Policy Studies@ips-dc.org · 2y ago

NEW: Just 12 U.S. billionaires now have a collective net worth of over $2 trillion, according to new analysis from IPS scholar @ocampomar.bsky.social — a figure that amounts to a little less than a third of total federal spending in 2023. @eloisegoldsmith.bsky.social has more in @commondreams.org:

Benevity donations increased by 14%, while giving to donor-advised funds at community foundations and affiliates of Vanguard, Fidelity and Schwab dropped 22% last year. “[D]onations by rank and file workers aren’t usually driven by tax considerations.” www.forbes.com/sites/mariag...

Charitable Giving In The Workplace Is Back–And Just In Time

As CEOs cut back on DEI and tell young workers to leave their politics at home, charitable giving is emerging as a way for employees to bring their own values to work.

forbes.com

It’s Dark Money-Giving Tuesday! "A group of Wall Street-backed charity funds fueling the dark-money takeover of American politics is set to help collect half of all individual charitable donations within the next three years." @thelever.bsky.social @countingcharity.bsky.social @ips-dc.bsky.social 🤝

It’s Dark Money-Giving Tuesday

A new study reveals that charitable giving will soon be dominated by Wall Street dark-money funds that enrich the wealthy and never have to give to working charities.

levernews.com

"Those seeking to curry favor with the incoming Trump administration, including foreign nationals, now have the opportunity to donate to its transition effort without their names or potential conflicts becoming public."

David Fahrenthold@fahrenthold.bsky.social · 2y ago

NEW: Trump is running his transition on secret money, sidestepping the usual requirement to disclose the names of his donors. www.nytimes.com/2024/11/24/u...

Donor-advised funds aren’t like other charities—their funding is much more tax subsidized. Here’s a summary of some recent work with @helenofips.bsky.social

Donor-advised funds are drawing a lot of assets besides cash – taking a bigger bite out of tax revenue than other kinds of charitable giving

Donors can get two different tax breaks when they give by turning stocks, bonds and other financial assets into charitable gifts.

theconversation.com

Great timing, given the extraordinary amount of money the crypto industry poured into the election and the unprecedented influence they'll have in the new administration.

Michael Hiltzik@hiltzikm.bsky.social · 2y ago

My latest column: The FTX crypto disaster was even worse than you thought www.latimes.com/business/sto...