Bella DeVaan

tracking philanthropy + inequality @IPS_DC

[Bella DeVaan @bdevaan]

"what is at first glance a case of hypocrisy at a single sponsor warns of what can happen when financial institutions position themselves at crucial choke points of democracy."

great piece from @DanPetegorsky @IPS_DC on DAF sponsors, SPLC, + leonard leo:
https://t.co/5q0tC0pAS4

[Bella DeVaan @bdevaan]

fab visualization by @HelenofIPS of the top 20 U.S. charities over the last 34 years:

the most important story in 21st century philanthropy is the rise and (concerning) dominance of donor-advised funds, which don't have payout or adequate transparency requirements

@IPS_DC

[Bella DeVaan @bdevaan]

@eyre_ramsay 🐐

[Bella DeVaan @bdevaan]

thanks @teddyschleifer for citing us "left-wing critics" @IPS_DC. our report from last summer:
https://t.co/H4ZwpiOaEA

@Chuck99to1 @HelenofIPS @DanPetegorsky

[Bella DeVaan @bdevaan]

it sounds obvious but the fact that almost all original signers **cannot stop getting richer** is what makes the Giving Pledge so easy to criticize. the right will take advantage of anything! it's far past time for voluntary efforts w/ teeth, new regs, + wealth redistribution.

[Teddy Schleifer @teddyschleifer]

I spent the last few months talking to people around The Giving Pledge about a bygone era of philanthropy.

There is an attack campaign against the Pledge led by none other than Peter Thiel.

My reported essay for NYT Sunday Business is out today.

[Bella DeVaan @bdevaan]

per @Philanthropy's data, over $13.1 billion (or over 58%) of "gifts" from America's 50 biggest donors traveled into foundations & donor-advised funds in 2025.

money flows out of them... but basically everyone's getting richer, reaping tax benefits, + retaining control.

[The Chronicle of Philanthropy @Philanthropy]

The Chronicle's exclusive Philanthropy 50 is out. @MikeBloomberg tops the list for the third straight year with $4.3 billion in 2025 giving. America's 50 biggest donors gave $22.4 billion total. View the full list at: https://t.co/ZcNqZO2NzN
#PHIL50

[Teddy Schleifer @teddyschleifer]

Bill Gates explains donor-advised funds to Jeffrey Epstein.

[Bella DeVaan @bdevaan]

"I wanted to inspire really rich people — billionaires — to pony up some dough," @craignewmark tells Ben Gose @Philanthropy.

More on the new Giving Pledge signatory, who calls Leonard Cohen his rabbi and loves CUNY, ft. our @IPS_DC take:
https://t.co/IfZFYGN459

[Akela Lacy @akela_lacy]

“It’s a way to rinse your name off of any kind of donation that could be perceived as controversial or something that you just want to keep anonymous publicly,” DeVaan said.

[Bella DeVaan @bdevaan]

Melinda French Gates on our @IPS_DC Giving Pledge at 15 report findings:

"I wish we had been even more successful with the pledge than we have been to date... I believe to whom much is given, much is expected, and they should be giving back more. Far more than they are."

[WIRED @WIRED]

On this week’s episode of The Big Interview podcast, the philanthropist offers her insights on billionaire donors, kids on phones, and the importance of women’s health care. https://t.co/SXUupzboxk

[Daniel Steinmetz-Jenkins @daniel_dsj2110]

“One-third of all newspapers in America closed between 2004 and 2025. When newspapers close, local businesses commit more legal violations, local government borrowing costs grow because of decreased public scrutiny of spending decisions, people vote less…” https://t.co/InauUi0f0D

[Joe Weisenthal @TheStalwart]

Very interesting piece in The Baffler which offers up a Marxist history of literacy. Lots of Walter Ong Thought etc. https://t.co/WcYIivUtbb

[Institute for Policy Studies @IPS_DC]

NEW: Since 2010, some 14% of our country's billionaires have pledged to give away at least half of their wealth. Instead, most of them have collectively grown far, far richer, IPS @inequalityorg researchers found.

IPS scholar @bdevaan on @katiecouric:
https://t.co/5HyhHwi3S0

[Bella DeVaan @bdevaan]

It’s fair to ask, writes @David_Moscrop, “what good a several times–removed, tax-deductible donation from a tech billionaire does for someone struggling to make ends meet within an economic system designed by and for that same billionaire to preserve their wealth and power.”

[Jacobin @jacobin]

Most Giving Pledge dollars never reached the public, flowing instead to private foundations and donor-advised funds while billionaires grew richer, bought reputations for generosity, and handed back scraps to the people who made their fortunes. https://t.co/p9AtIZRchb

[Inequality.org @inequalityorg]

Not surprisingly, Starbucks declined multiple requests for comment from @msainat1 of @guardian on our new CEO pay report. This quote from our co-editor @SarahDAnderson1 will help you understand why they took a pass.

[Bella DeVaan @bdevaan]

talked with Mike Scutari @InsidePhilanthr about the indignities and contradictions of billionaire philanthropy, which both stagnates far too much tax-exempt $$ and dominates the nonprofit sector:

[Inside Philanthropy @InsidePhilanthr]

A new report by the Institute for Policy Studies found that Giving Pledge signatories prefer making gifts to intermediaries under their control instead of working nonprofits.

Mike Scutari reports: https://t.co/cwlwQOTTlr

IP Related Resources:
Grants for Racial Equity & Justice -https://t.co/8kvi4G1BRE
Grants for Indigenous Rights -https://t.co/pwbf4lpq22
Report: Giving for Economic Justice Policy and Advocacy -https://t.co/tkF0LqynLg

#FirstNations #NativeLed #NativeJustice #EconomicJustice #IndigenousRights #Philanthropy #RacialEquity #NativeVoices #CommunityLed #Grantmaking

[David Wallace-Wells @dwallacewells]

“Despite 15 years as Giving Pledgers, 32 of the original U.S. signatories are now—in aggregate—nearly three times wealthier, with a combined net worth of $908 billion.” https://t.co/D7twLRCglI

[Bella DeVaan @bdevaan]

Larry Ellison's concept of his 2010 Giving Pledge includes investing in businesses, not just making nonprofit grants. As @teddyschleifer and @nkulish note, "making money has always been easier for Mr. Ellison than giving it away."

Great vibe check on for-profit philanthropy:

[Teddy Schleifer @teddyschleifer]

NEW:

Larry Ellison is spending hundreds of millions of dollars on for-profit companies that he is calling his new charitable project.

Ellison is now worth almost $300 billion — and is building a massive Oxford corporate entity to spend his fortune.

Details with @nkulish.

[Bella DeVaan @bdevaan]

if the Giving Pledge's cadence trends hold, we're on track to have tax-shielded, trillion-dollar, dynastic foundations with unfathomable power.

big thanks to @eshugerman @sfstandard for talking with me about our new @IPS_DC report + checking in on the Bay Area billionaires!!

[Emily Shugerman @eshugerman]

15 years ago, some of Silicon Valley's biggest names pledged to give away half of their wealth in their lifetimes. How's that going?

"Across nearly every example, there’s proof that the Giving Pledge is unfulfilled, unfulfillable, and not our ticket to a fairer, better future," a new report claims
https://t.co/UKlWCmYlZL