Bella DeVaan

Giving Pledge | Bill Gates, Warren Buffett, Billionaire Philanthropy, Criticism, & Impact | Britannica Money In the first 50 years of his life, Charles Feeney went from being the child of a nurse and an insurance...

spotted: @ips-dc.org Giving Pledge research on @britannica.com ⭐ www.britannica.com/money/the-Gi...

Craigslist Founder Signs Giving Pledge and Narrows Focus Craig Newmark's philanthropic strategy is shaped as much by what didn’t work as by what did — leading to an approach that favors scale, networks, and trusted intermediaries over scattershot giving.

"I wanted to inspire really rich people — billionaires — to pony up some dough," Craig Newmark tells Ben Gose
@chronphilanthropy.bsky.social.

More on the new Giving Pledge signatory, who calls Leonard Cohen his rabbi and loves CUNY, ft. our @ips-dc.org take:
www.philanthropy.com/news/craigsl...

Richest 15 U.S. centi-billionaires see wealth surge 33 percent to $3.2 trillion - Institute for Policy Studies Richest 15 U.S. centi-billionaires see wealth surge 33 percent to $3.2 trillion

NEW: In 2025, U.S. billionaire wealth surged to $8.1 trillion — an increase of over 20.8%.

The top 15 U.S. billionaires alone saw their wealth surge to $3.2 trillion, a whopping 33% increase over 2024.

IPS scholars @chuck77.bsky.social and @ocampomar.bsky.social:

Melinda French Gates on Secrets: ‘Live a Truthful Life, Then You Don’t Have Any’ On this week’s episode of The Big Interview podcast, the philanthropist offers her insights on billionaire donors, kids on phones, and the importance of women’s health care.

Melinda French Gates on our @ips-dc.org Giving Pledge report:

"I wish we had been even more successful with the pledge than we have been to date... I believe to whom much is given, much is expected, & they should be giving back more. Far more than they are."
@wired.com
www.wired.com/story/the-bi...

Billionaires Promised to Give Wealth Away — So Why Are They Richer Than Ever? Even the billionaires who’ve promised to donate their wealth can’t seem to make a dent in it.

NEW: Since 2010, some 14% of our country's billionaires have pledged to give away at least half of their wealth. Instead, most of them have collectively grown far, far richer, IPS @inequality.org researchers found.

IPS scholar @bdevaan.bsky.social on @katiecouric.bsky.social:

These Billionaires Pledged To Give Away Wealth. Most Are Getting Wealthier At 15 years old, the Giving Pledge shows we can't rely on the best intentions of billionaires to win a fairer economy.

NEW: In an era of staggering inequality — and tax avoidance — privately held fortunes are larger than anyone can fathom. Charitable donations simply aren't keeping up with what could be raised from a fairer tax code.

IPS scholars @chuck77.bsky.social and @bdevaan.bsky.social in @newsweek.com:

America's billionaires promised to give away their money 15 years ago. How's that going? - The San Francisco Standard Only one local bigwig is even close to giving away half their wealth.

NEW: 15 years into the Giving Pledge, billionaires’ broad failure to donate money faster than they can hoard it shows the need to overhaul philanthropy — and tax the rich, says @bdevaan.bsky.social. “There’s only so long that we can take them at their word.”

@eshugs.bsky.social in @sfstandard.com:

IPS’s Giving Pledge at 15 report: wealth growing alarmingly faster than it’s given away - the Giving Review Warns of coming supercharged dynastic philanthropy.

NEW: In 2010, 57 billionaires pledged to give away at least half of their wealth. In the 15 years since, 32 of them have instead collectively grown 283% wealthier.

“We must enact measures to ensure more donations actually reach working charities,” says IPS scholar @bdevaan.bsky.social:

The Giving Pledge at 15 15 years on, the Giving Pledge is unfulfilled, unfulfillable, and not our ticket to a fairer, better future.

NEW: Hundreds of rich people have signed the Giving Pledge to donate half of their wealth. 15 years on, their lack of progress shows our critical need to fix philanthropy — and tax them more.

REPORT by @chuck77.bsky.social, @bdevaan.bsky.social, @helenofips.bsky.social and @dpetegorsky.bsky.social:

New Study Shines a Light on the Impact of Donor-Advised Funds - Non Profit News | Nonprofit Quarterly Where do DAF dollars go—and how quickly do these donor dollars actually arrive at operating nonprofits? The answers, derived from a new study, may be surprising.

New Study Shines a Light on the Impact of Donor-Advised Funds nonprofitquarterly.org/new-study-sh... @chuck77.bsky.social‬ @helenofips.bsky.social‬ @ips-dc.org #nonprofits

Hundreds of billionaires pledged to give away $600 billion to charity—but the Bill Gates and Warren Buffett era of philanthropy may be over A new tax proposal aimed at crippling liberal philanthropic foundations may bulldoze a billionaire giving norm—but women like MacKenzie Scott and Melinda French Gates are expected to step up instead.

Billionaire MacKenzie Scott’s “stealth giving” — giving money directly to nonprofits, letting them handle the funds as they see fit — is “shifting common sense towards trust-based philanthropy,” says @ips-dc.org charity reformer @bdevaan.bsky.social.
fortune.com/2025/05/24/g...

Tagging for #nonprofitsky 🤝... #ARNOVA ... #NVSQ ...

And my team at @inequality.org @ips-dc.org
@dpetegorsky.bsky.social @bdevaan.bsky.social @chuck77.bsky.social @rachelleighcash.bsky.social!

“We need to just really change the relationship between money and influence in politics through the nonprofit sector.” IPS Charity Reform Initiative's Bella DeVaan talks about how dark money is funneled through nonprofits on our webcast www.youtube.com/watch?v=G-yE...

The Independent Report on DAFs Demystifying donor-advised funds and their impacts on charitable giving, fair taxation, and our democracy itself.

It's out! The 1st-ever independent rep't on donor-advised funds, w. REAL percentages for what goes out in grants (not much) & the REAL average size of individual DAFs (huge!). Well done, @chuckcollins.bsky.social @helenofips.bsky.social Dan Petegorsky & Bella DeVaan!

inequality.org/article/the-...

The Independent Report on DAFs Demystifying donor-advised funds and their impacts on charitable giving, fair taxation, and our democracy itself.

Excited to share our Charity Reform Initiative's first Independent Report on DAFs!

@chuck77.bsky.social @helenofips.bsky.social @dpetegorsky.bsky.social and I seek to shed a little more light on the flow of these tax-benefited billions...
@ips-dc.org @inequality.org

inequality.org/article/the-...

An Urban Legend Fifty years after the publication of The Power Broker, the legacy of urban planner Robert Moses is ripe for revisiting.

my brilliant sister on 50 years of The Power Broker and today's possibilities for the public authority, in @jacobinmag.bsky.social -- jacobin.com/2024/12/an-u...

Billionaires like Musk give to charity and get something from it too "Philanthropic cakeism" is the new paradigm for donors.

"Philanthropic cakeism" is changing how the wealthy give

www.axios.com/2024/12/16/p...

Let’s Make This a Season of Giving, Not Hoarding - OtherWords Billionaires and Wall Street exploit our charitable giving laws to dodge taxes and collect fees, hurting real charities in the process.

Right now, $1.7 trillion in donations is sitting in private foundations and DAFs — money that's needed by working charities. Popular philanthropy reforms could get this money flowing to nonprofits faster.

IPS @inequality.bsky.social scholars Chuck Collins and @bdevaan.bsky.social: #nonprofitsky

On Giving Tuesday, Four Sobering Thoughts The end of the year is a time for big fundraising hauls, but it’s also a time for reflection. Here are several troubling trends funders and fundraisers face.

Great piece from @insidephilanthropy.com (citing our new report!) 🤝

The financial industry is blurring the distinction between investment and philanthropy, "encouraging the idea of a seamless continuum from for-profit investment through ESG screening and microloans to traditional philanthropy.”

For Wall Street-Fueled Philanthropy Industry, Every Day Is Giving Tuesday | Common Dreams "The financial industry aggressively markets DAFs for uncharitable reasons: advantages as tax avoidance vehicles, especially for complex assets; no payout requirements—and secrecy to donors and grante...

Instead of giving directly to charities, the wealthy are giving more to foundations and donor-advised funds advertised for their tax avoidance benefits and lack of transparency.

New @inequality.bsky.social findings in @commondreams.org from @eloisegoldsmith.bsky.social:

A Q&A on Death and Taxes with Director Justin Schein - Inequality.org Director Justin Schein challenges the most pernicious anti-taxation myths in his new film, Death and Taxes.

Eye-opening new documentary Death and Taxes shows how the rich hoarding wealth can shortchange both their own personal happiness and the collective prosperity of our society.

IPS researcher Bella DeVaan chats with filmmaker Justin Schein in @inequality.bsky.social:

It’s Dark Money-Giving Tuesday A new study reveals that charitable giving will soon be dominated by Wall Street dark-money funds that enrich the wealthy and never have to give to working charities.

It’s Dark Money-Giving Tuesday! "A group of Wall Street-backed charity funds fueling the dark-money takeover of American politics is set to help collect half of all individual charitable donations within the next three years."

@thelever.bsky.social @countingcharity.bsky.social @ips-dc.bsky.social 🤝