Trust-Based Philanthropy

The End of the Road We Know

By December 20, 2021

It’s hard to believe that we’re at the end of 2021 and that The Whitman Institute will be closing down in a matter of months. This last stretch of the road is certainly not what we originally envisioned when we decided to spend out a decade ago. We closed the office a year earlier than…

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Dear Mackenzie Scott, Thank You For Your Trust-Based Philanthropy

By December 22, 2020

Dear Ms. Scott, Thank you. Thank you for using your very visible philanthropic platform to respond to 2020 with fierce urgency and willingness to take direction from those most harmed by its horrors. Your giving has made headlines for obvious reasons: your public profile as a woman billionaire, the sheer scale of these gifts, the…

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Foundation Leaders, It’s Time to Shrink the Gap Between Words and Deeds

By November 20, 2020

Originally published by and reposted with permission from the Center for Effective Philanthropy.  As a longtime advocate for multiyear general operating support (GOS), reading CEP’s recent report, New Attitudes, Old Practices: The Provision of Multiyear General Operating Support, was a sobering and frustrating experience. The Whitman Institute, which I co-lead, started making grants in 2005….

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There Is No Better Time Than Now for Philanthropy to Spend Itself Out of Existence

By July 30, 2020

By Ellen Friedman , Glen Galaich, and Pia Infante Reposted with permission of The Chronicle of Philanthropy As our nation grapples with a confluence of crises, philanthropy is abuzz with how best to respond. Some are increasing payouts. Others are allowing grantees more flexibility in how they spend funds. A few have issued bonds to…

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Our Spend-out: What’s Changed, What’s Next

By and June 22, 2020

When we last wrote a reflection on TWI’s spend out, we lifted up our uncertainty and vulnerability as we looked to 2022 as well as our commitment to being transparent about the journey ahead. Here we are, over a year later, and uncertainty and vulnerability remain constant companions – as they are for just about…

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