Weekly Reader – June 12, 2017

What we’re reading and recommending this week. We add to this post throughout the week and look for your suggestions in the comments.

Monday, June 12

We need a science of philanthropy (Caroline Fiennes, nature) Billions of dollars are being donated without strong evidence about which ways of giving are effective.

Tuesday, June 13

How to Get Real About Racism in Philanthropy (Allison Brown, medium) The Schott Foundation is setting a new standard for talking explicitly about how racism is showing up in the philanthropic sector and what leaders can do to correct this.

Wednesday, June 14

GM Foundation Refocusing On STEM (Mark Hrywna, The Nonprofit Times) After 30 years as a traditional corporate foundation, the General Motors Foundation is evolving its corporate philanthropy into one more aligned with its business units and employees around the world.

Thursday, June 15

Against “Big Bets” (Larry Kramer, SSIR) Strategic philanthropy should reject the latest fad of large grants in favor of long-term steadfast commitments to the many organizations making progress on our most important problems.

Friday, June 16

Jeff Bezos Says Helping the Neediest Now May Be Where His Philanthropy Goes (Alex Daniels and Maria Di Mento, The Chronicle of Philanthropy) Jeff Bezos, one of the world’s wealthiest business leaders, hasn’t given big sums to charities yet, but he signaled today that he is ready to do so — and made clear that he is more interested in giving money to charities that directly help people in desperation than in building institutions that will last for generations.

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