Nicole Taylor has an insider’s view of philanthropic developments from her seat because the president and CEO of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Situated in Mountain View, California, the group basis’s donors gave out almost $4.6 billion in 2023, a big improve from the $2.6 billion granted the earlier yr.
That spike, Taylor mentioned, was due to some massive donors “who actually doubled down massive on some issues that they cared about.”
She mentioned it’s arduous to foretell what’s going to occur this yr, “Are there going to be extra wars? We have now an enormous election developing. We absolutely anticipated donors to be energetic. Whether or not it’s going to be $4 billion once more? Arduous to say.”
The inspiration doesn’t touch upon particular donors or donations, however its reported grants reveal its shoppers embrace a number of the wealthiest and strongest folks in Silicon Valley. That features Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg and his spouse Priscilla Chan, different Fb alumni, and people whose wealth comes from the booming enterprise of synthetic intelligence.
Taylor, who was the primary Black lady to steer the muse when she joined in December 2018, spoke with The Related Press in regards to the position of philanthropy in democracy, threats to racial justice advocacy and the expansion of donor-advised funds. The interview has been condensed.
Q: A big and rising share of charitable giving goes to donor-advised funds. How does SVCF get donors to truly transfer these {dollars} to charities?
A: Donor-advised funds have allowed many, many individuals to get into get into the sport as I prefer to say. Get off the sidelines and get into the sport and actually be capable of have an effect in ways in which weren’t accessible to them earlier than. You don’t should be rich. You don’t should arrange your personal personal basis, and it permits you to accumulate some sources and get them out or get them out instantly.
We truly don’t should do a lot to encourage our donors to present it out. … We arrange concern space funds in order that in the event that they’re not fairly certain what they wish to give to, they can provide to our housing fund or immigration fund or we have now a civic engagement fund, a journalism fund. … After which, we have now an inactive fund coverage. After two years, if you happen to don’t make any grants, we truly take that and put it into our group fund.
Q: Some fear that donations to DAFs sit unused, and that is one place the place anxiousness in regards to the inequality in our society comes out.
A: Which is weird as a result of the questions needs to be in regards to the personal foundations. And I inform my personal basis colleagues this on a regular basis. I’m like, ‘You all are sitting in your belongings.’ We’re not sitting on our belongings. They’re getting out. … There’s a billion {dollars} that sits within the personal basis, they usually solely have to present out a fraction of it yearly. I’m going to harp on this, as a result of that’s the place the anxiousness needs to be. Why do they get to get away with that? And individuals are fearful a few $25,000 DAF that offers out $5,000 grants yearly. As a result of that’s the scale of the DAFs that we’re speaking about. And if you happen to needed to speak in regards to the largest ones that we’ve had, they’re probably the most energetic of all of our donors, they usually’re those placing out vital sources yearly. A whole lot of tens of millions of {dollars} yearly.
Q: The Supreme Court docket choice final yr that ended affirmative action at colleges is reverberating by philanthropic establishments. What are the true dangers are to nonprofits that pursue racial justice?
A: The anxiousness is excessive on this, although the selections had been very slim and spoke to admissions in increased schooling. The anxiousness and a number of the lawsuits which have come already, it’s actual, it’s palpable. Individuals are fearful. … Now is just not the time to retreat. Now is just not the time to stroll away from communities of shade and communities which have confronted systemic inequity for many years, for a whole lot of years. What we began doing is determining the best way to put together organizations to know what they will do, know what they will say, the place inviting authorized assaults may occur and how much authorized schooling do they want and preparation for that? So we’ve truly launched a fund by the California Black Freedom Fund, which we’re incubating. It’s a authorized schooling and advocacy protection fund, so LEAD, and it’s particularly round racial justice points and organizations working in that space. There’s funding sources, authorized consultants are coming to the desk and advocacy consultants, they usually’re coaching nonprofit leaders within the state of California round this.
Q: How are you partaking your donors prematurely of the November elections?
A: Silicon Valley, we prefer to joke that we’re the ATM for each political events. There may be loads of exercise happening in our area proper now with the elections. And it’s not simply the presidential. There’s congressional races, there’s native races. So many people are very a lot energetic within the electoral season and they’re very within the civic participation a part of it.
By way of donor occasions, we’re truly going to have a few them in June. One on civic engagement and one on the position of native journalism and democracy and the place individuals are getting their info from. And if English is just not your first language, the place are you getting details about voting, about registering, about how one can get an engaged and concerned? And once more, not simply on the nationwide degree. You’ll be able to have a say in voting for who will get elected to your youngster’s college college board.
Q: Silicon Valley can also be residence to social media platforms and know-how firms which have contributed to the deterioration of our info ecosystem. Do your donors take into consideration that?
A: We sit at this very attention-grabbing intersection right here within the Valley. Our donors are very a lot conscious of what the impression is of know-how by way of info and engagement civically, each optimistic and the unfavourable. They’re very, very conscious of it and wish to be sure that they may also help advance the optimistic, by way of civic engagement and combating disinformation.
Related Press protection of philanthropy and nonprofits receives assist by the AP’s collaboration with The Dialog US, with funding from Lilly Endowment Inc. The AP is solely accountable for this content material. For all of AP’s philanthropy protection, go to https://apnews.com/hub/philanthropy.
—Thalia Beaty, Related Press