Jim Rendon

1 week ago | philanthropy.com | Jim Rendon

It’s a deeply unsettled time in the nonprofit world. Federal grants and contracts, once a source of stable funding, are disappearing with no notice. Needs in many communities are skyrocketing, and it is impossible to predict what is coming next. Nonprofit leaders are overworked and overwhelmed and face what feel like insurmountable odds. Sarah Jaquette Ray, chair of the Environmental Studies Department at Cal Poly Humboldt, can relate — and she can help.

3 weeks ago | philanthropy.com | Jim Rendon

When John Szoka was first elected to the North Carolina legislature in 2013, he thought solar energy was “a bunch of garbage.” Advocates from left-leaning environmental groups who wanted to save the polar bears did nothing to sway him. Then he spoke to a Republican lobbyist. She never mentioned environmental calamities or polar bears. Instead, she talked about the benefits for his constituents of low-cost renewable energy. “Make no mistake. I’m a conservative Republican. I like guns.

2 months ago | philanthropy.com | Jim Rendon |Taylor Callery

Nearly two decades ago, Melinda French Gates had an epiphany. After fielding questions at a press conference announcing Warren Buffett’s decision to give much of his fortune to the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, she realized that she and Bill — up until then the one more associated with the foundation — needed to be equal partners in philanthropy. And to do that, she needed to transform herself into a public advocate.

Mar 4, 2025 | philanthropy.com | Maria Di Mento |Jim Rendon

For the second year in a row, former New York City mayor Michael Bloomberg gave the most to charitable causes, according to the Chronicle of Philanthropy’s exclusive Philanthropy 50 list of the Americans who donated the largest sums to nonprofits last year. The former New York City mayor gave $3.7 billion. Six donors on the list gave $1 billion or more.

Mar 4, 2025 | philanthropy.com | Maria Di Mento |Jim Rendon

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. The online publication Slate started the list in 1996, and in 2000, the Chronicle took over the list, partnering with Slate in the early years.