Martha Ramirez

Free Speech Is Under Attack. Here’s What Funders Are Doing — and What Else Is Needed With civil liberties under increasing threat, it’s critical that philanthropy retains its voice and defends free speech, both to protect nonprofits and democracy writ large.

“If our democracy is to survive, the freedoms of speech and the press need a vigorous, determined defense."

www.insidephilanthropy.com/home/free-sp...

Seven Women’s Giving Circles and Networks to Know Women make up the majority of members in 70% of all giving circles. Here are a few to know focused on women, trans and nonbinary people.

Women make up the majority of members in 70% of all giving circles, which are steadily popular and more democratic ways of giving. With more than 4,000 giving circles in the U.S., here's some women’s giving circles to know.

Martha Ramirez(@martharamirez.bsky.social) reports: tinyurl.com/4vm6p555

This Philanthropic Partnership Aims to Reduce Youth Incarceration in L.A. How Is It Faring? With a renewed contract and an injection of philanthropic dollars, Ready to Rise will continue its work to support youth in Los Angeles for another seven years.

With a renewed contract and an injection of philanthropic dollars, Ready to Rise will continue its work to support youth in Los Angeles for another seven years.

Martha Ramirez(@martharamirez.bsky.social) reports: tinyurl.com/mpsnxxfy

#YouthJustice #JusticeReform #YouthDevelopment

Voting Rights Are Under Attack. It’s Time for All Funders to Take Action With Trump now taking aim at mail-in voting, philanthropy’s role in supporting the right to vote has become all the more critical, and it’s not just “democracy funders” who need to step up.

Trump has taken aim at mail-in voting. With the midterm elections on the way, philanthropy’s role in supporting the right to vote has become all the more critical, and it’s not just “democracy funders” who need to step up.

Martha Ramirez(@martharamirez.bsky.social) reports: tinyurl.com/ummnm85j

Voting Rights Are Under Attack. It’s Time for All Funders to Take Action With Trump now taking aim at mail-in voting, philanthropy’s role in supporting the right to vote has become all the more critical, and it’s not just “democracy funders” who need to step up.

“You can never have a real democracy with mail-in voting. We as a Republican Party are going to do everything possible that we get rid of mail-in ballots,” President Trump said.

For philanthropic funders and the nonprofits they support, this is a moment of truth.

Warnock to RFK jr: "For the first time, we are seeing deaths of children from measles. We haven't seen that in two decades. We're seeing that under your watch. You are a hazard to the health of the American people."

BREAKING: A new experiment in Philly shows cash rental assistance slashed homelessness rates by 57–67%.

Rapid Response: Funders Pool Their Dollars to Protect Public Media Big, public-facing rapid response initiatives from philanthropy have been notably rare so far amid Trump's cuts. But here's an exception: the newly launched Public Media Bridge Fund.

A group of philanthropic funders has come together to commit $36.5 million in emergency funding for at-risk public television and radio stations. The fund will focus on rural, Indigenous and other underserved communities that are most vulnerable to losing their stations due to federal cuts.

Inside the Black Freedom Fund’s Journey to Independence and Permanence Launched in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder, the pooled fund is now a legally independent organization. It's facing stiff headwinds this year, but it's in it for the long haul.

"Whether people see racial justice as a winning issue or not, it is something that they have to contend with."

Originally launched as a five-year initiative following the murder of George Floyd, the Black Freedom Fund is now a independent, permanent institution working to advance racial justice.

Trump Says He Wants to Get Rid of Mail-in Voting in Resumption of Criticism The president is continuing his on-again, off-again battle with mailed ballots.

President Trump says he wants to get rid of mail-in voting in resumption of criticism.

Who’s Funding Public News Media? With the imminent closure of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, philanthropic support for public news will be all the more critical. Here’s who’s funding public news, including PBS NewsHour and ...

With the imminent closure of the Corporation for Public Broadcasting, philanthropic support for public news will be all the more critical. Here’s who’s funding public news, including @pbsnews.org and @npr.org.

Many Boys and Men of Color Struggle. This California Funder Network Is on the Case California Funders for Boys and Men of Color aims to address educational inequity, youth justice system involvement, economic opportunity and more.

“Retrenchment or going back on those investments will take us back to the place that we recovered from… The job is not done. We’ve learned a lot about what can be helpful and effective in these spaces. We need to continue to double down."

Allan Ahlberg, Whose Children’s Books Were Best Sellers, Dies at 87 Over five decades, he produced some 150 books, many of them illustrated by his wife, Janet Ahlberg, including classics like “Each Peach Pear Plum.”

Allan Ahlberg, a beloved author of best-selling children’s books, many of them illustrated by his wife, Janet Ahlberg, has died at 87.

The Corporation for Public Broadcasting, which has distributed federal funds to both PBS and NPR for decades, announced Friday that it's shutting down.

The news comes after President Donald Trump recently clawed back more than a billion dollars of funding for public broadcasting.

Viewers Like You: Who’s Supporting PBS at the National Level? PBS stations are finding themselves in trouble after Congress decided to strip the Corporation for Public Broadcasting of more than $1 billion. Here are some funders that have the broadcaster’s back.

Although donations to local PBS stations have jumped in recent weeks, the surge isn’t enough to make up for the federal funding that has been lost. Already, stations are making cuts, with some even finding themselves at risk of closure.

Philanthropy and Homelessness: What’s Changed, What’s the Same, and What’s Still Needed How does this complex and growing problem illustrate philanthropy's limits? And what do progress and setbacks through COVID and into the second Trump administration tell us about the way forward?

Funders were hopeful about making progress on homelessness. Then the pandemic hit. How have approaches evolved? And how will the Trump administration impact the crisis?

Martha Ramirez(@martharamirez.bsky.social) reports: tinyurl.com/2jdbf4ep

#HomelessnessCrisis #HousingFirst #AffordableHousing

Fact Sheet: President Donald J. Trump Takes Action to End Crime and Disorder on America’s Streets ENDING VAGRANCY AND RESTORING ORDER: Today, President Donald J. Trump signed an Executive Order to restore order to American cities and remove vagrant

President Trump has issued an executive order that: 1) calls for the institutionalization of unhoused people with mental illnesses, 2) and end to Housing First policies, and 3) calls for cities and states to criminalize homelessness.

www.whitehouse.gov/fact-sheets/...

Donations to NPR and PBS Stations Surge After Funding Cuts

scoop: donations to NPR and PBS stations have exploded, with donors across the country giving in unprecedented numbers since Congress cut federal funding

www.nytimes.com/2025/07/24/b...

I want to extend my deepest gratitude to every foundation leader, expert, staff member and communications person that spoke with me, answered my question and lent their insight on such a complicated and important matter. Extra big shout-out to my editor for sticking with this story.

I've been working on this story for a little over a year, and I can't believe it's finally been published. This has been a labor of love, and I'm so thrilled to finally be able to share it.

In this deep dive into homelessness funding, @insidephilanthropy.com examines some of the strategies that philanthropy has used to address homelessness, the progress that's been made, and why funders need to push for greater investment from all levels of government.

Philanthropy and Homelessness: What’s Changed, What’s the Same, and What’s Still Needed How does this complex and growing problem illustrate philanthropy's limits? And what do progress and setbacks through COVID and into the second Trump administration tell us about the way forward?

Conventional wisdom would suggest homelessness would rise across the U.S. during the pandemic, but the data shows that levels remained relatively steady through 2022. It wasn't until after pandemic-era funding ran out and protection began to lapse that homelessness began to surge.

VC billionaire Michael Moritz's foundation gives $3.4M to S.F. immigrant defense Crankstart, the personal foundation of the VC billionaire, has given at least $36 million to San Francisco city departments.

Mission Local's excellent reporting: missionlocal.org/2025/06/foun...

Crankstart Steps Up to Defend Immigrants in San Francisco Chalk up the billionaire-backed grantmaker as one that's willing to act amid Trump's mass deportation campaign.

First reported by @missionlocal.org, Michael Mortiz's Crankstart Foundation has awarded $3.4 million to help the San Francisco Public Defender’s Office hire additional attorneys so it can better meet the increased need for immigration services.

Four Funders Supporting the Right to Protest With the right to assembly under attack in the U.S. despite its First Amendment protections, here are some grantmakers who've been pushing back.

While the right to peaceably assemble is enshrined in the First Amendment, in recent years, legislation has been introduced to curb the right to protest and broaden existing time, manner and place restrictions. These efforts are part of the ongoing attacks against American rights.

Public Broadcasters Brace for Vote on Sharp Funding Cut At the urging of President Trump, Congress is expected to vote this week on whether to cut $500 million per year for public radio and TV stations.

At the urging of President Trump, Congress is expected to vote this week on whether to cut $500 million per year for public radio and TV stations.

Wow — New Gallup poll:

— Trump approval on immigration: 35-62 (!)

— Record high approval of immigration (79-17 overall)

— 78% of people support a pathway to citizenship (+8 from 2024); only 38% support mass deportation (-9 from 2024)

— 30% want a decrease in immigration (-25 from 2024)

Kresge and Others Back a Community-Rooted Strategy to Tackle Food Insecurity As billions of dollars are cut from public food assistance programs, community ownership models like equitable food oriented development offer hope for a better way.

🥦🏛️ As food aid gets slashed, communities are taking matters into their own hands.

A growing movement is reclaiming land, building food systems, and creating real alternatives to top-down charity.

📖 @martharamirez.bsky.social Reports: tinyurl.com/9tkvtpdx
‪@kresge.org‬

#Philanthropy #EFOD

Kresge and Others Back a Community-Rooted Strategy to Tackle Food Insecurity As billions of dollars are cut from public food assistance programs, community ownership models like equitable food oriented development offer hope for a better way.

“We understand that we need to feed people. We really need to be solving why people are hungry in the first place, and so we’re really wanting to solve for those issues ourselves," said Camryn Smith, co-founder and executive director of Communities in Partnership.

BREAKING: A federal judge says Donald Trump's crackdown on aslyum for those crossing the southern border exceeded his legal authority and must be halted.

He grants sweeping class protection.

ecf.dcd.uscourts.gov/cgi-bin/show...