Mutual Aid in Action: The Role of Latinx- and Indigenous-Serving Organizations in Pandemic Recovery

Hispanics in Philanthropy (HIP) launched The Essential Fund in mid-2020 to support Latinx-, Indigenous, and community of color-led and -serving organizations across the United States. Over the course of a year, the Fund provided over $2.2M in relief and resources to impacted Latinx and communities of color, and engaged with more than 100 grantee partners to amplify their capacity to meet the basic needs of essential workers and their families, particularly undocumented workers and multi-generational and mixed-status families.Insights from this experience, as shared by organizations directly working with Latinx and Indigenous communities, are documented in this report to continue shining a spotlight on the impact that flexible and timely philanthropic dollars can make for smaller Latinx- and Indigenous-led and -serving organizations, and to offer ideas for how philanthropy and policymakers can best support communities that are still working to address the ongoing racialized economic and health impacts of the pandemic, as well as enduring systemic inequalities

Women as the Way Forward: Lessons from Afghan Women's Empowerment JourneyAnd What Can Be Done Now

Women as the Way Forward attempts to make sense of the mistakes and successes of the last several decades of policymaking, as well as what needs to be done now to prevent further disaster in Afghanistan. This is all examined through a lens of Afghan women's past and future centrality in sustainable and effective policymaking—from security to stability to economics to addressing humanitarian challenges. While the report's historical review aims to prevent the repetition of past mistakes, the core of the paper is its recommendations for the way forward. Clearly, Western governments have made assumptions about points of leverage with the Taliban that have been incorrect and overall failed to develop a coherent Afghanistan policy. Gaining a better understanding of the Taliban's ideology and goals, which I explore in this paper, is key to formulating more effective and grounded policy. Having completed high school in the same kind of extremist Pakistani madrassas that the Taliban were shaped in, I understand firsthand the extent of their radicalism

Promovendo doações transfronteiriças sem obstáculos

Receber e utilizar recursos é o meio para a sociedade civil operar e implementar atividades em prol de um mundo mais justo, inclusivo e sustentável. A filantropia independente e habilitada, portanto, é fundamental para o apoio ao papel da sociedade civil no ecossistema social e democrático de qualquer país.No entanto, as restrições às doações transfronteiriças que apoiam a sociedade civil local e a construção de ecossistemas filantrópicos estão crescendo. Essas restrições representam grandes obstáculos à filantropia em todo o mundo.Este documento de política da WINGS fornece recomendações a governos e autoridades financeiras sobre como eles podem promover reformas políticas de regulamentos que atualmente desincentivam ou proíbem a colaboração internacional entre entidades filantrópicas em todo o mundo.Francês: https://wings.issuelab.org/resource/encourager-les-dons-transfrontaliers.htmlEspanhol: https://wings.issuelab.org/resource/promoviendo-mejores-condiciones-para-las-donaciones-transfonterizas.htmlInglês: https://wings.issuelab.org/resource/promoting-unhindered-cross-border-giving.htm

PledgeLA Venture Data Report 2023: An Analysis of Access to Capital in the Los Angeles Venture Capital and Tech Ecosystems

A new report from the UCLA Luskin School of Public Affairs that tracks investments made by LA-based venture firms connected to the Annenberg Foundation's PledgeLA initiative found slight increases in funding to women and Black founders when compared with the previous year. However, there are still many gaps remaining, especially when it comes to check size and venture firms' comparative assets under management

Preferences for Firearms and Their Implications for Regulation

More than 40 percent of Americans reside in a household that contains at least one firearm. Combined, American civilians own roughly 400 million firearms. Both the popularity of firearms and the codification of the right to bear arms in the U.S. Constitution suggest that gun ownership confers substantial enjoyment to consumers in the United States. Although the vast majority of purchased firearms are not used in violent crime, the toll of gun-related injuries is high. In 2020, there were more than 45,000 gunrelated deaths in the United States. Our research develops a framework for evaluating gun policy that simultaneously respects the individual enjoyment of gun ownership and takes seriously the harm caused by guns

Review and Analysis: Resilient Communities Grantmaking Portfolio (2020-2022)

The Sozosei Foundation launched its Resilient Communities Program (RCP) in the summer of 2020 at the request of Otsuka America Pharmaceutical, Inc. (OAPI), with the intent of evolving the company's longstanding commitment to philanthropy. The goal of the program was to refine the company's philanthropic commitment by designing guidelines and priorities to support diverse, under-resourced communities where the company has a presence. Over the two years of its grantmaking, the program provided over $1 million in grants and served over 177,000 people across six target communities

Designing a "good life" for livestock: Could gene editing improve farm animal welfare in low- and middle- income countries?

Gene editing's successful application to benefit farm animals' welfare is unlikely in the short to medium term, particularly in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), given the high costs and low rates of success to date in research settings.Reasons: 1. Gene editing is biased toward outcomes that can be easily measured and assessed. More complex traits associated with animal welfare such as behavior or condition are less likely to be targeted using gene editing.  2. Gene editing has been designed for use in vertically integrated production systems as livestock breeding is centralized and breeds themselves are highly standardised in these systems. Many LMICs lack vertically integrated production systems, have higher numbers of smallholder farmers, lack investment by companies and NGOs to promote these technologies, lack gene editing researchers, and have limited local support for biotechnology research and training.Potential downsides of gene editing: 1. Where the intensification of livestock production is growing, gene editing is likely to further accelerate intensification and disadvantage farmers relying on less intensive production systems. 2. Genetic diversity across traditional breeds is valuable and should be maintained. It is not clear how gene editing could affect this diversity.There may be specific applications that could lead to improvements in animal welfare in certain LMICs, for example: 1. Using gene editing to bias sex ratios could be particularly valuable in India, given the country's extensive dairy industry. 2. Sex selection in layer hens in Egypt, given hens there are raised in an increasingly vertically integrated production system. 3. Producing polled cattle and eliminating the need for mechanical dehorning as currently occurs in many locales.Many farm animal welfare issues in LMICs are less likely to be addressed through applications of gene editing as opposed to lower technological measures such as better access to veterinary services, better management practices, improved biosecurity, and poverty reduction

Housing, land and property in the context of climate change, disasters and displacement

This brief presents the Norwegian Refugee Council's knowledge and experience in addressing housing, land and property (HLP) issues associated with climate change, disasters and displacement, including those often aggravated by conflict. It is not a comprehensive catalogue of HLP issues, nor does it present the full breadth of NRC's operations. Rather, it reflects the organisation's experience in delivering information counselling and legal assistance (ICLA), shelter and settlements and other programmes, and draws on its role as lead and co-lead of inter-agency coordination. The brief documents examples of NRC's operations in Afghanistan, Iraq, Mozambique, Somalia and South Sudan, countries also identified for the work of the Special Adviser

Ready to Learn, Eager to Earn: A youth-led market and wellbeing assessment in Rohingya camps

Without access to quality, relevant education, or dignified work, Rohingya refugee youth face bleak and limited futures. Within the camp setting, they are unable to meet their immediate basic needs and are at high risk of violations of their rights, wellbeing, and security.The Rohingya community is about to mark six years since its exodus from Myanmar. The state of Rohingya youth remains a blur: what are the barriers related to livelihood opportunities and social engagement? What are the skill-development needs for Rohingya youth residing in the refugee camps of Cox's Bazar

California's Top-Two Primary: The Effects on Electoral Politics and Governance

In this report, we conduct an in-depth analysis of California's top-two nonpartisan primary election system to better understand if and how eliminating partisan primaries reshapes politics and governance.We evaluate the effects of the top-two system in California based on the criteria established by supporters and opponents of such primary reforms, as well as by political scientists. Specifically, we assess the impact of Top Two on polarization, turnout and meaningful electoral participation, election competitiveness, Californians' assessment of state governance, and party strength. We exhaustively review existing peer-reviewed research and conduct original analysis to understand whether the claims and hopes of reform advocates came true