Understanding who gives the most and their strategies
Dear John,
With federal funding under threat for nonprofits, many eyes are turning to private fundraising. In one example, the Chronicle’s Rasheeda Childress explores how Graham Windham, a social-service nonprofit, tapped into the generosity of two longtime supporters when traditional government grants weren’t an option. Such an approach could be key to sustaining organizations amid the Trump administration's efforts to reduce federal spending.
During these chaotic times, it’s also useful to understand who gives the most to charity and what their giving strategies look like. Our annual Philanthropy 50 list, which features the year’s biggest donors, reveals more than the high-profile names in philanthropy. It reflects what the future of big giving could look like.
Our reporters found that the donor backlash and MacKenzie Scott's no-strings giving didn't necessarily sway the country's biggest philanthropists. Meanwhile, during politically charged times, other mega-donors are trying to steer clear of public debates about giving and want to lock in on doing effective work. Take K. Lisa Yang, who is No. 34 on the list. Yang is a retired investment banker who has long supported research collaboratives at Harvard and MIT. She has little time for critics of these universities. She also supports diversity in the workplace by giving to a nonprofit that encourages employers to hire neurodiverse people. “Boots on the ground. That’s my approach,” Yang says.
We also checked in with the mega-donors of the future, individuals in their 30s, 40s, and 50s. We learned that they tend to work more collaboratively than earlier generations of funders and find fresh ways to compare notes — like using WhatsApp chats.
In case you missed it, here are the articles covering the Philanthropy 50 from all angles:
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| Philanthropy 50 | | An Exclusive Chronicle Ranking of Who Gives the Most to Charity | | America’s 50 biggest donors gave to a broad array of causes last year. They supported scholarships to reduce students' college debt, biological and biomedical sciences, cancer research and treatment, nonprofits that help people with developmental, intellectual, and physical disabilities, and much more. | | Read More ► |
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| Philanthropy 50 | | Michael Bloomberg Tops List of America's Biggest Donors for the Second Year in a Row | | The former New York City mayor gave $3.7 billion, and six donors on the list gave $1 billion or more, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s exclusive Philanthropy 50 list of the Americans who donated the largest sums to nonprofits last year. | | Read More ► |
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| Philanthropy 50 | | America's Mega-Donors Stuck to Their Giving Strategies in 2024 | | The year was marked by some big public debates about philanthropy. MacKenzie Scott’s streak of multimillion-dollar grants to nonprofits continued, bringing her total giving to $19.2 billion since 2019. | | Read More ► |
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| Philanthropy 50 | | Meet the Mega-Donors of the Future | | Andrew Dayton was steeped in philanthropy from a young age. On his mother’s side, he’s a fifth-generation Rockefeller. His paternal grandfather founded Target in the 1960s and was a major patron of the arts in Minnesota’s Twin Cities. | | Read More ► |
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| Philanthropy 50 | | Tracking a Quarter Century of Giving | | The Philanthropy 50, the Chronicle’s annual list of the year’s biggest donors, traces its roots back to a major philanthropic figure. CNN and United Nations Foundation founder Ted Turner — who has appeared on the list six times — proposed ranking the richest Americans, not by their wealth but by their giving, as a way to spur more philanthropy. | | Read More ► |
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Hear directly from our reporters. On March 25 at 2 p.m. Eastern, we’re hosting a free online forum about nonprofits and the Trump agenda. I’ll ask our reporters to open their notebooks and share the latest on topics such as: Threats to federal funding and DEI efforts. How foundations are responding to the administration’s moves. Insights into how organizations are shifting strategies. Tips on securing funding during the uncertainty. Don’t miss the chance to hear how philanthropy is handling this seismic shift and pose your own questions to our expert reporters.
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With gratitude,
Andrew Simon, Editor-in-Chief, the Chronicle of Philanthropy
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