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A new report from the Women’s Philanthropy Institute explores the characteristics of women’s fund and foundation donors — the vast majority of whom are women — and finds that these donors are exemplary in a number of ways. Donors to women’s funds and foundations give more, engage more holistically, and see themselves as leaders in philanthropy — particularly in their giving to women’s and girls’ causes.

Amid a complex climate for charitable giving, American individuals, bequests, foundations and corporations gave an estimated $427.71 billion to U.S. charities in 2018, according to Giving USA 2019: The Annual Report on Philanthropy for the Year 2018. Total charitable giving rose 0.7% measured in current dollars over the revised total of $424.74 billion contributed in 2017. Adjusted for inflation, total giving declined 1.7%.

The Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy at IU Indianapolis, in partnership with the Wharton School of Business at the University of Pennsylvania, recently analyzed the potential impact of five distinct policy proposals to develop a tax benefit for charitable giving for non-itemizers. The study was commissioned by Independent Sector, a national membership organization of nonprofits, foundations, and corporations.

Dr. Sara Konrath

At a time of general uneasiness about how new digital media might reduce empathy, many people are embracing virtual reality (VR) technology as an exception, some going so far as to hail it as an “empathy machine.” However, new research finds that VR fails to improve a type of empathy essential for maintaining compassion when the VR goggles are taken off.

A new study from the Lilly Family School of Philanthropy in partnership with the United States Agency for International Development (USAID)’s Office of American Schools and Hospitals Abroad (USAID/ASHA) examines emerging trends in U.S. charitable giving for international issues, provides a look at how funding for internationally focused nonprofit organizations has changed over time, and explores practices that may influence the capacity and likelihood of individuals and organizations to engage in international philanthropic activities.