Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

Philanthropy
A Conversation with PhilanthropywoRx’s Allen Smart (Part 1 of 2)
National foundations should consider rural grantmaking for many reasons, including “the ability to create impact in a way that is both quicker and probably more fundamental, given the smaller populations,”…
by Michael E. Hartmann on August 27, 2024

Philanthropy
A Conversation with PhilanthropywoRx’s Allen Smart (Part 2 of 2)
A number of national rural-philanthropy intermediary organizations have been created in recent years, he notes. “They’re all national. They’re funded by national funders,” Allen Smart says. “I think it’s created…
by Michael E. Hartmann on August 27, 2024

Philanthropy
Comparing Higher-Ed and Foundation Endowments with at Least $10 Billion in Assets Under Management
When U.S. Sen. J. D. Vance proposed a bill last December that would increase the excise tax from the current 1.4% to 35% on the net investment income from the…
by Michael E. Hartmann on February 28, 2024

Deception & Misdirection
ProPublica Steps in It
ProPublica has made news recently after proverbially “stepping in it” by leveling out false charges in the guise of “fair and accurate” reporting. They reached out and asked Justice Alito…
by CRC Staff on July 21, 2023

Organization Trends
Behind the Forever Mask: A Guide to Pro-Lockdown Holdouts
If one did not know any better, one would think the lockdown-and-mask era of COVID-19 has ended. Even the Chinese Communist Party is abandoning its “Zero COVID” lockdown regime, despite…
by Michael Watson on January 6, 2023

Philanthropy
“Democracy Funders” Lopsidedly Liberal
Of the top 200 givers to “democracy” as defined and tracked by Candid, 121 are ideologically categorizable as left-of-center and 21 are categorizable as right-of-center. Of the Candid list’s top…
by Michael Watson on May 3, 2022

Foundation Watch
Foundations Should Disclose Investments and De-Politicize Giving
An increasing number of private foundations are inserting sociopolitical considerations into their investment portfolios, just as many already do in their grantmaking. Those that choose to do so should be…
by Robert Stilson on March 7, 2022

Foundation Watch
The Private Investments of Private Foundations: Philanthropy’s “Dark Money”?
The IRS instructs private foundations to attach a detailed schedule of investments to their annual publicly available Form 990-PF. Some, however, do not include meaningful detail on how their vast…
by Robert Stilson on February 17, 2022

Foundation Watch
The Private Investments of Private Foundations: Incongruous Investments
Investment portfolios shouldn’t be battlefields for ideological conflict, but many foundations—and particularly the activist groups they fund—are increasingly choosing to make them so. This can result in a marked disconnect…
by Robert Stilson on February 17, 2022

Foundation Watch
The Private Investments of Private Foundations: Capitalism for Me, But Not for Thee
The specifics of a given foundation’s investments—indeed, whether those investments are properly disclosed and itemized at all—is rather less relevant when that foundation’s grantmaking evidences wholesale antagonism to market capitalism…
by Robert Stilson on February 17, 2022