Author: Maximilian Hiller, Devin Kwasniok, Vanessa Mertins
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No Gifts, No Strings: How a Good Cause Stands on Its Own
Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Ahead of Print. Volunteers are vital for nonprofit organizations, yet recruiting them remains a challenge. This study evaluates two common strategies – Gift-Exchange and the Foot-in-the-Door (FITD) technique – in recruiting episodic volunteers. In a field experiment with … Goto full post >>
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Aliko Dangote Foundation pledges $688 million for education in Nigeria
The Lagos-based foundation aims to focus on students in the STEM disciplines (science, technology, engineering, and math) and well as on teacher training and the education of girls…. Philanthropy News Digest | https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/rss/feed/pndnewsGoto full post >>
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Built Different: A Prayer for Endurance
A Poem by S. Gray This affirmation is something I wrote for myself first — a personal grounding, a quiet prayer borne out of an ongoing season of grief. In a world that keeps demanding more than any one person should have to hold, I needed language that could meet me where I actually was:…
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Staff Members’ Personal Donations for Giving Season 2025
For this post, a number of GiveWell staff members volunteered to share the thinking behind their personal donations for the year. We’ve published similar posts in previous years.1See our staff giving posts from 2024, 2023, 2022, 2021, 2020, 2019, 2018, 2017, 2016, 2015, 2014, and 2013. jQuery(‘#footnote_plugin_tooltip_16165_1_1’).tooltip({ tip: ‘#footnote_plugin_tooltip_text_16165_1_1’, tipClass: ‘footnote_tooltip’, effect: ‘fade’, predelay: 0,…
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Boston Children’s Hospital receives $100 million gift
The gift from Rob and Karen Hale—the largest in the health system’s history—will support behavioral health initiatives and fund a new building at its Franciscan Children’s hospital in Brighton…. Philanthropy News Digest | https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/rss/feed/pndnewsGoto full post >>
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Book Review: Volunteering in the United Kingdom: The spirit of service, by Mohan, J.
Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Ahead of Print. Goto full post >>
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Reflections from CHANGE Philanthropy’s 2025 UNITY Summit
For nearly a decade, CHANGE Philanthropy’s UNITY Summit has been a vital gathering for funders, organizers, and community leaders dedicated to building a more just and liberated future. EPIP staff, scholarship recipients, and community members have participated in many of these Summits, and while each year leaves a lasting impact, this year felt especially powerful.…
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Growing Needs, Shrinking Aid: Answering More of Your Questions
On December 4, 2025, we held a panel discussion titled “Growing Needs, Shrinking Aid: Cost-Effective Action in a Year of Funding Cuts.” The discussion, which was moderated by GiveWell co-founder and CEO Elie Hassenfeld, addressed the effects of recent cuts, how GiveWell is responding, and what we’re learning along the way—including our predictions and uncertainties…
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Kansas Health Foundation awards $3.5 million for contamination testing
Grants were awarded to organizations in the Wichita area to ensure residents of Sedgwick County impacted by decades of groundwater contamination have access to free health testing…. Philanthropy News Digest | https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/rss/feed/pndnewsGoto full post >>
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ODU receives $15 million for medical and nutrition education
The award from Joan Brock to Virginia’s Old Dominion University will establish an institute that will serve as a multidisciplinary hub to integrate nutritional health science and lifestyle medicine with traditional medical school training…. Philanthropy News Digest | https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/rss/feed/pndnewsGoto full post >>
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From Service to Sector: Early-Adulthood Volunteering as a Pathway into Nonprofit and Public Employment
Nonprofit and Voluntary Sector Quarterly, Ahead of Print. Nonprofit, public, and private employees display theoretically and empirically distinct characteristics. An important branch of this research investigates differences in prosocial behaviors given a sector of employment, but findings often model prosocial … Goto full post >>
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TCU receives $3 million from Bezos Family Foundation
The gift to Texas Christian University will help expand the college’s research initiatives, fueling the science of learning while bolstering faculty-led research and community-engaged projects that address critical education issues…. Philanthropy News Digest | https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/rss/feed/pndnewsGoto full post >>
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Kavli Instrumentation for Astrophysics program awards $4.8 million
The funding from the Kavli Foundation, WoodNext Foundation, and philanthropist Kevin Wells will support university-led projects to develop tools for the Lick and McDonald Observatories to deepen humanity’s understanding of how planets and stars form…. Philanthropy News Digest | https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/rss/feed/pndnewsGoto full post >>
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Pepperdine University receives $4.8 million to launch nursing school
The gift from HCA Healthcare will support development of the university’s 30,000-square-foot facility on Pepperdine’s Calabasas campus, which includes clinical simulation labs, high-fidelity patient manikins, and immersive learning environments designed to prepare students in lifelike scenarios…. Philanthropy News Digest | https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/rss/feed/pndnewsGoto full post >>
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Mutual aid in motion: One participant’s story
Editor’s Note: In February 2025, Shareable launched Mutual Aid 101, a free learning series to introduce new organizers to mutual aid. Over 3,000 people from across the US participated in the series over six weeks. During an Offers & Needs Marketfor participants, a Shareable staff member shared a need for participants to tell their story.…
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SMU receives $60 million for interdisciplinary energy-sector program
The award from the Dallas-based O’Donnell Foundation will help launch Southern Methodist University’s Energy Science, Innovation, and Enterprise program designed to fuel the current energy boom across the North Texas region…. Philanthropy News Digest | https://philanthropynewsdigest.org/rss/feed/pndnewsGoto full post >>
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Podcast Episode 18: Behind the Planet Money ALIMA Grant Story
This episode follows up on the November 26, 2025 episode of Planet Money, “Saving lives with fewer dollars,” which covered GiveWell’s evaluation of a grant to the Alliance for International Medical Action (ALIMA) to maintain primary healthcare, hospital services, and malnutrition treatment in two subdistricts of North Cameroon following unexpected aid cuts earlier this year.…