Welcome to the Philanthropy Project
So, what is this all about?
Simply put, we believe that U.S. charitable funds should be used to benefit the public.
This is not happening now. Much of the $1.5 trillion that has already resulted in tax deductions is sitting in unproductive repositories and subject to wasteful fees at private foundations, and donor advised funds, and endowments, instead of prioritizing the timely and effective uses of funds held in public trust.
We believe that only appropriate government regulation and oversight can address the full scale of this situation.
The Philanthropy Project has been formed to deepen awareness and public action of these problems and how to address them:
- To serve as a community clearinghouse of current events, opinion and research on philanthropic reform (following the money and spotlighting brilliant work by others). Recent pieces from the Institute for Policy Study and the National Philanthropic Trust are examples of what we will feature.
- To be part of building and strengthening a constituency driving reform of philanthropy from the perspective and experience of community organizations most directly affected by its actions.
- To engage the staff and volunteers in on-the-ground nonprofits in a discussion too often dominated by researchers and law professors
- To organize support for policy changes in the public interest, starting in five areas:
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Why donate to the Philanthropy Project?
We at the Philanthropy Project are not trying to abolish donor-advised funds, private foundations, endowments, and other vehicles for giving and tax management. We do believe that common-sense regulation is needed to curb the ease with which some vehicles can be abused, and the detrimental timing of the tax deduction. There are large, powerful Wall Street firms and others that have deep financial and political reasons for opposing reform.
All of us at the Philanthropy Project are committed volunteers. We operate under the fiscal sponsorship of Community initiatives. We operate on a very short shoestring!
Please consider making a donation to the Philanthropy Project. We need you. Philanthropic reform needs you.
Donate
By check — We prefer to receive donations by check. Philanthropy Project is a fiscally sponsored project of Community Initiatives. Please make checks payable to:
Community Initiatives – 6471 Philanthropy Project
PO Box 45515
San Francisco, CA 94145-0515
Online — If you pay through using the Donate Online button below, please consider giving a bit more to help pay for the 17.5% that is taken out of online donations. Thank you!