Open Philanthropy Project History of Philanthropy Case Study: The Founding of the Center for Global Development

This case study examines the founding and growth of the Center for Global Development (CGD), a think tank that conducts research on and promotes improvements to rich-world policies that affect the global poor

Philanthropys Role in The Fight for Marriage Equality A Literature Review and Historical Investigation for the Open Philanthropy Project

The campaign for marriage equality in the U.S. over the past couple decades is a remarkable success story. To better understand philanthropy's role in it, we commissioned Benjamin Soskis, whose work we've funded via our history of philanthropy project, to produce a literature review and case study. It covers the history of the campaign to secure marriage equality in the United States, which culminated in the Supreme Court's decision, in Obergefell v. Hodges, that the U.S. Constitution guarantees same-sex couples the right to marry

The Impact of Philanthropy on the Passage of the Affordable Care Act

This report has two aims. First, it seeks to examine the role of philanthropy in the passage of the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (ACA) in March 2010; in this regard, it resembles a traditional case study of philanthropic impact. But it also uses that examination to address some of the epistemic and methodological challenges involved in evaluating policy advocacy more generally; in this way, it also seeks to present a metastudy of the narratives of impact that have emerged regarding philanthropy and health care reform and the evidentiary support on which they are grounded.The challenges in evaluating philanthropy's hand in shaping policy have been well documented; this report has certainly run up against many of them. Yet at least one of these challenges is addressed directly through the retrospective, historical approach that this report takes. If foundations have often found it difficult to evaluate grants aimed at affecting policy change because of the broad time horizon such transformation often requires, looking backwards from the vantage point of such a significant change—the passage of the ACA—provides an outstanding perspective on the question of philanthropic impact. Analysis is staked, in this case, to a particular legislative outcome. For this reason, this report does not engage the role of philanthropy in the implementation of the Affordable Care Act. However, it is important to note that many of the funders discussed below have taken a leading role in supporting that process and appreciate that passage of the legislation represented only an initial step in a lengthier campaign to ensure that all Americans have access to affordable, quality health care

The Pre- and Early History American Corporate Philanthropy

This essay explores the pre- and early history of corporate philanthropy in the United States, from the mid nineteenth century till the mid-twentieth century, a period that witnessed a slow, halting progression toward the public acceptance of corporate giving. Efforts to win legitimacy for corporate giving required the reconciliation of contending imperatives—to increase a corporation’s profits on behalf of its shareholders and to honor the social responsibilities inherent in the corporate form. The essay demonstrates both the various strategies adopted to secure such a reconciliation, and how precarious that reconciliation often was, as victories on behalf of corporate giving’s legitimacy often triggered various counter-reactions that vitiated some of those victories’ achievements

A Chemical-Genetic Study of EphB Receptor Tyrosine Kinase Signaling in the Developing Nervous System

EphB receptor tyrosine kinases regulate cell-cell contacts throughout nervous system development, mediating processes as diverse as axon guidance, topographic mapping, neuronal migration and synapse formation. EphBs bind to a group of ligands, ephrin-Bs, which span the plasma membrane, thus allowing for bidirectional signaling between cells. Since EphBs are capable of multiple modes of signaling, and since they regulate numerous interdependent stages of development, it has been challenging to define which signaling functions of EphBs mediate particular developmental events. To overcome this hurdle, we developed an approach combining chemical biology with genetic engineering to reversibly inhibit EphB receptors in vivo. By mutating a residue in the receptor’s ATP-binding pocket, we rendered its kinase activity sensitive to reversible inhibition by PP1 analogs that do not inhibit wild type receptors. We engineered triple knockin mice bearing this mutation in which the kinase activity of EphB1, EphB2, and EphB3 can be rapidly, reversibly, and specifically blocked. Since we are able to block the kinase activity of EphBs while leaving their scaffolding and reverse signaling capabilities intact, we can precisely isolate the role of the kinase domain. In addition, acute inhibition can circumvent the developmental compensation that may occur after genetic mutations and can even allow the controlled study of EphBs in the mature brain and in disease models. Using these mice, termed analog-sensitive EphB triple knockin (AS-EphB TKI) mice, we demonstrate a requirement for the kinase-dependent signaling of EphBs in the collapse of retinal ganglion cell growth cones in vitro and the guidance of retinal axons at the optic chiasm in vivo. In addition, we show that the formation of several cortical axon tracts, including the corpus callosum, requires EphB tyrosine kinase signaling. In contrast, we find that steps in synapse development that are thought to be EphB-dependent occur normally when the kinase activity of EphBs is inhibited. We conclude that a cardinal in vivo function of EphB signaling, the ability to mediate axon guidance via growth cone repulsion, requires the tyrosine kinase activity of EphBs, while the development of functional excitatory synapses is independent of EphB tyrosine kinase activity

Balancing Speed, Equity, and Impact during a Crisis: The Greater Washington Community Foundations Response to COVID-19

This report chronicles the genesis and evolution of the Greater Washington Community Foundation's efforts to raise and coordinate funding from a wide range of individual and institutional donors to address the devastating effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. With a particular focus on The Community Foundation's COVID-19 Emergency Response Fund, the largest of its kind in the region, this account highlights the balance of various grantmaking imperatives that characterized Greater Washington's philanthropic response to the pandemic more generally

Public-Philanthropic Partnerships: A Review of Recent Trends

· The last decade has seen a surge of interest in public-philanthropic partnerships (PPPs), due not only to these collaborations’ notable successes but also to the 2008 election of Barack Obama. The Obama administration unveiled a series of initiatives that looked to philanthropy to help identify innovative programs. · To explore the issues involved in PPPs, this article looks at two key federal initiatives, Michigan’s Office of the Foundation Liaison, and the involvement of foundations in state and local responses to the 2007 financial crisis and the implementation of the federal economic stimulus package. · The growth of public-philanthropic partnerships will present foundations with significant challenges that will require a clearer understanding – even a redefinition – of private and public responsibilities toward funding social programs

Az ember és a gépek

Itt az ideje elgondolkodnunk azon, hogyan biztosíthatunk törvény adta jogokat a számítógépeknek. A tanulmány felhívja a figyelmet arra, hogy egy bizonyos időpontban a nem túl távoli jövőben ténylegesen szembe kerülhetünk olyan érzékeny és intelligens gépekkel, akik arra a meggyőződésre juthat, hogy megérdemlik a jogi védelem valamilyen formáját, és azt ki is követelik maguknak. A számítógépek jogainak biztosításához nem csupán technológiai, hanem intellektuális akadályokat is le kell győzni. Sok ember szerint egy számítógépnek – lényegéből fakadóan – soha nem lehet erkölcsi értéke. Számos tudós a Turing tesztet tekinti olyan modellnek, amelynek alapján a mesterséges intelligencia (MI) számára bírói ítélettel jogi státus biztosítható. A szerző bemutat néhány folyamatban levő projektet az MI és a robotika területéről, amelyek ún. szociális robotok létrehozására irányulnak. Arra a következtetésre jut, hogy ha jogokat követelünk az M.I. számára, mindig tudatában kell maradnunk e döntésünk erkölcsi és jogi következményeinek. Jogrendszerünk „asimovizálása” még nem esedékes, de mind az embereknek, mind a robotoknak még nagyon sok mindent kell tanulniuk egymástól, hogy teljesebb mértékben emberivé váljanak

The State and Future of the National Social Sector Infrastructure

This report examines the state of the national social sector infrastructure—which we define as the support system that helps the social sector thrive—and discusses how to strengthen it. We explore the challenges and opportunities of growth in the social sector infrastructure, inequities and disparities in the social sector and its infrastructure, and the importance of well-being. Within these themes, we offer suggestions for the future. We hope our findings will help social sector infrastructure providers, funders, and users understand the current state of the national social sector infrastructure and gain insight into how they can help strengthen it