Leadership Briefings on Reforming Philanthropy #2
REGISTER NOW FOR
Leadership Briefings on Reforming Philanthropy
Within the movement for philanthropic reform, the national Philanthropy Project takes the particular frame of improving philanthropy through public policy regulation and tax reform. We applaud the motives and actions of authentic donors, while investigating the broader “industry” of philanthropy and strategies of self interested actors abusing philanthropic vehicles for goals other than the public good. Note the scale of the opportunity in 2025:
- $1.6 Trillion held in private foundations
- $326 Billion in donor-advised funds
By 2026 this will total $2 trillion in trapped value for which donors already received tax deductions, but too much is sitting in financial institutions rather than actively serving the public good.
We’re bringing a set of three leadership briefings on philanthropic reform to the nonprofit/philanthropic community to take the discussion further. Each briefing will identify problem areas and their negative consequences, address potential regulations and legislative solutions, and then explore how to get involved in the growing movement:
Leadership Briefings on Reforming Philanthropy
Focus on Donor-Advised Funds (DAFs)
- Monday, June 22, 2026
- 1 pm Pacific / 3 pm Central / 4 pm Eastern
Donor-advised funds (DAFs) now hold more than $254 Billion – with no requirement to give any of it out, ever. And: each year $4 Billion is transferred between DAF accounts each year – counting as “payout.” Donors received immediate tax deductions for their donations to DAFs, but there no benefit to public while funds remain undistributed to active nonprofits.
In the second of three webinars on reforming philanthropy, we’ll bring a variety of influential expert voices to zero in on donor-advised funds, with different and insightful outlooks:
Speakers
- Anna Fink, CEO, AssetsUnderMovement (formerly Amalgamated Foundation)
- Dan Petegorsky, Institute for Policy Studies, co-author, The Independent Report on Donor-Advised Funds
- Nonoko Sata, CEO, Minnesota Council of Nonprofits
- Geoff Green, CEO, California Association of Nonprofits (CalNonprofits), Moderator
This session will examine payout, public accountability, undisclosed transfers, and asset deployment concerns. We’ll review several proposals for regulatory and tax reform, and critique those proposals. Finally we’ll discuss how individuals can be involved with philanthropic reform.
A donor-advised fund, or DAF, is a designated charitable account held by a DAF sponsoring organization, in which the donor transfers funds to a sponsoring organization (such as Fidelity Charitable or a community foundation) and is allowed to provide advice to the sponsor as to the later distribution of the charitable funds to other charitable organizations. The DAF sponsor retains legal control over the funds, though in practice they generally defer to the wishes of the donor with “advisory privileges.” Originally associated with community foundations, financial investment firms have come to dominate the field, with Fidelity Charitable – the DAF sponsor affiliated with Fidelity Investments – currently receiving more tax-deductive charitable donations than any other nonprofit.
Webinar Series Co-Sponsors
Leadership Briefings on Reforming Philanthropy
REGISTER NOW FOR
Leadership Briefings on Reforming Philanthropy
Within the movement for philanthropic reform, the national Philanthropy Project takes the particular frame of improving philanthropy through public policy regulation and tax reform. We applaud the motives and actions of authentic donors, while investigating the broader “industry” of philanthropy and strategies of self interested actors abusing philanthropic vehicles for goals other than the public good. Note the scale of the opportunity in 2025:
- $1.6 Trillion held in private foundations
- $326 Billion in donor-advised funds
By 2026 this will total $2 trillion in trapped value for which donors already received tax deductions, but too much is sitting in financial institutions rather than actively serving the public good.
We’re bringing a set of three leadership briefings on philanthropic reform to the nonprofit/philanthropic community to take the discussion further. Each briefing will identify problem areas and their negative consequences, address potential regulations and legislative solutions, and then explore how to get involved in the growing movement:
Leadership Briefings on Reforming Philanthropy
FOCUS ON PRIVATE FOUNDATIONS
- Thursday, May 28, 2026
- 1 pm Pacific / 3 pm Central / 4 pm Eastern
- What are the main concerns about private foundations and their tax treatments?
- What are we learning from surveying the landscape of private foundation activity?
- What are the five leading proposals for regulatory reform of private foundations, and how do we critique them?
- How can an individual person or nonprofit be involved in the philanthropic reform movement?
Speakers
- The wild and wonderful Vu Le of Nonprofit AF and author of Reimagining Nonprofits and Philanthropy
- Craig Kennedy, former president of Joyce Foundation and the German Marshall Fund
- Bella DeVaan, Associate Director of the Charity Reform Initiative and Co-Editor of Inequality.org
- Alan Cantor, consultant and philanthropic muckraker
- Brief introduction to the topic from Jan Masaoka and Jon Pratt of the Philanthropy Project
Webinar Series Co-Sponsors