"We believe no-strings-attached microgrants fill a unique gap for creative and community projects," says guest columnist Michelle Lee.

Of the $40 million in COVID-relief distributed in the area, 60% of the funds have gone to Philadelphia-based nonprofits, most of whom received a one-time grant with an average size of $8,211.

Even before the protests erupted, the Movement for Black Lives had received $5 million in the first five months of 2020 to support Black communities affected by the pandemic, say guest columnists Una Osili and Kim Williams-Pulfer.

Guest columnist Cat Berman, the CEO and cofounder of the impact investment platform CNote, writes about why we need to revisit risk measurement and the lending process.

“Cuts in social service nonprofits will decimate a system that is already too fragile,” says Donna Cooper, the executive director of Public Citizens for Children & Youth (PCCY).

The University of Pennsylvania’s Center for High Impact Philanthropy estimates that of the $11.3 million that has been awarded to COVID-related health causes regionally, only 1%, or $131,500 was directed to nursing homes and assisted living facilities. 

Perhaps one of the biggest lessons of the coronavirus has been the social and economic fault lines the pandemic has laid bare.

Five prominent private foundations recently announced that they would increase their grantmaking by more than $1.7B over the next three years. Guest columnist Daniel Hemel takes a look at what that means.

It’s too soon to tell about 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the recession underway and widespread social movements for racial justice, but guest columnist Anna Pruitt looks at three long-term trends to watch.

Independence Public Media Foundation has created a $750,000 Community Voices Fund to speed the work of media that "creates and holds space for communities fighting for change and justice."