The Case for a Year of Care: Shifting the Leadership Transition Narrative
Too often, leadership changes and moments of transition bend an organization’s response toward fear and uncertainty. For staff and partnering communities, particularly those closest to the pains of structural racism, xenophobia, discrimination, and inequality, the stakes are even higher. Economic inequities undergird the arts and our workforce, amplifying legitimate concerns and fears....
Philanthropy for the Future: Civic Science, Data Sharing, and Community Voice
Rapid technological and scientific breakthroughs have made extraordinary advances, but as we’ve seen with the rollout of the COVID-19 vaccine, not all solutions work for all communities, where priorities, beliefs, expertise, and resources vary widely. As philanthropy seeks the most effective levers to drive social innovation, evidence and experience point...
The New Map of Life
Human life expectancy nearly doubled in the US and many other high income countries in the 20th century. This is one of the most remarkable achievements in human history. This increase in the odds of surviving to old age, coupled with a decline in fertility, led to a profound shift in...
The case for global mental strength
For many families, friends and colleagues around the world, the Covid-19 pandemic has fundamentally changed the conversation around mental health. Awareness has risen, stigma reduced and expectations, particularly around employee health, are rapidly changing. This in itself is extraordinary progress – a quick and quiet revolution – that is worth...
Reflections from the 2021 Philanthropy Innovation Summit
“I choose and believe in light and love. I know you do too. But it is not enough just to hope for it. It is not enough to wish for justice. It is not enough to hope that people will do right. If we value it, we must stand for...
Multiplication Factor: University Partnerships for Global Sustainability
What will the world look like when our children have their own children? When Jerry and I think about our philanthropy, this is top of mind for us. This summer, parts of the world were underwater even as others burned. The laws of atmospheric physics explain the increasing frequency and...
20 Years After 9/11: Commemorating History and Building for the Future
This month, as we mark 20 years since the attacks of 9/11, I’ll join New Yorkers and people from around the world in listening to the reading of the names at the World Trade Center. The ceremony helps fulfill our obligation to honor the lives of those who were killed...
Power Sharing and Equity
Are you listening? How? And to whom? I share these questions as ones I’ve asked myself as both a philanthropist and an artist. I share these questions as the spark that I believe can ignite a shift in philanthropy that will transform our approaches and our impact. This month, I...
How to be a Democracy Funder
Democracy is under severe threat in the United States and around the world, but figuring out how to use your financial resources to protect and sustain American democracy is no easy feat. For one thing, the decline of democracy is an incredibly complex challenge with a multitude of domestic and...
Even in Recovery, Hidden Pandemics Loom
As vaccinations are being adopted worldwide, businesses are opening up, and people are rushing out into life again, I, like many others, can see the light at the end of the tunnel. At this moment, I find myself reflecting and looking ahead to a future beyond the pandemic, one with...