Giving Ventures

Artifical Intelligence is here and everywhere. That includes the nonprofit and philanthropic worlds. In this episode, Chris Koopman of the Abundance Institute offers us a perspective on the problems with the pessimism that is seemingly everywhere, how AI is uprooting old ideas, whether AI is a new Renaissance or a new Industrial Revolution, why everyone hates data centers now, the many ways public...

Conservative and libertarian donors have made phenomenal gains in the area of education choice over the past 10 years. The question now becomes: how do we defend those gains? There are some phenomenal groups out there that are focused on implementation, particularly with regard to the three big pillars we've identified: 1) the supply of schools; 2) making sure parents know how to opt in their kids...

The legendary businessman and philanthropist Ed Snider was a titan of Philadelphia sports. He was inducted in the Hockey Hall of Fame, owned Philadelphia's NBA team, the 76ers, and even ran the Philadelphia Eagles NFL team back in the 1960s. But Ed's philanthropic legacy is just as illustrious. He helped found the Ayn Rand Institute, created the Ed Snider Center for Enterprise and Markets at his a...

American higher education is in need of serious reform. Campus protests and activist professors are just the tip of the iceberg. But over the past 26 years, Princeton University professor Robert P. George has been building a movement that's revitalizing American colleges and universities. In this episode of Giving Ventures, Prof. George joins Peter to discuss the success of the James Madison Progr...

Nonprofit think tanks conduct research, prepare policy reports, and hold briefings for lawmakers. But does anyone in the halls of power really care? That's the question that guides this conversation with Scott Centorino. Scott previously served as President Trump's Special Assistant for Domestic Policy in the White House and as a senior fellow at the Foundation for Government Accountability, a Flo...

John Adams famously said, “Our Constitution was made only for a moral and religious people. It is wholly inadequate to the government of any other.” Perhaps he should have included "a mentally healthy people." In recent years, Americans have become more willing to discuss mental health and seek professional help for anxiety, depression, and other maladies. But this commendable development has had...

Americans are known to be the most generous people in the world, giving to charitable causes at rates that far outstrip our peers in other nations. In 2025, giving totaled more than $600 billion. And that number is driven primarily by individuals. At the same time, federal and state-level laws and regulations sometimes disincentivize philanthropy. Attempts to expose the names of anonymous donors,...

The work of preserving, cultivating, and advancing liberty is a long-term game. Fads come and go, but the principles underlying a free society are fixed. And for decades, one of the shining stars in the constellation of liberty has been the Mercatus Center. Mercatus was founded in 1980 and has grown into a talent cultivator, idea incubator, policy influencer, and all around force for free-market i...

This year, DonorsTrust is expanding our offerings with the launch of our Catalyst Portfolio funds and foundation-level philanthropic services. This episode of Giving Ventures announces these exciting new programs and casts a vision for how they will enable our community to grow and strengthen the liberty movement.

Many people would say that America was founded on Judeo-Christian principles that ought to bring a set of ethics into our public life. But today's political environment seems to be one where ethics are lacking. This episode of Giving Ventures explores the Ethics and Public Policy Center, a conservative think tank that incorporates the Judeo-Christian cultural aspect into its thinking about public...

The 250th anniversary of America's independence presents an opportunity to bridge our political divides rather than deepen them. This episode of Giving Ventures explores Be the People, a nationwide civic effort that aims to resurrect shared American ideals and foster community-driven solutions that last. Peter talks with Sarah Cross, senior vice president at Stand Together about how leveraging the...

Making the case for free markets requires sound research and clear communication. The American Institute for Economic Research is one of the top think tanks doing that work today. AIER, founded in 1933 amidst the Great Depression, has long championed classical liberal principles—yet today, it faces the challenge of restoring momentum on both sides of the aisle. In this episode of Giving Ventures,...

The foster care system remains one of the most overlooked yet urgent issues affecting society’s most vulnerable children. Darcy Olsen, founder and CEO of the Center for the Rights of Abused Children, offers a clear-eyed perspective on why current reforms are insufficient and how legal advocacy can reshape outcomes for millions of kids. With a personal story rooted in her own journey fostering and...

The legal battles shaping the future of liberty often unfold behind the scenes, yet their impact resonates across society. This episode of Giving Ventures explores how public interest law firms like Liberty Justice Center are leveraging strategic litigation to reinforce constitutional rights and curb government overreach. Sara Albrecht, chairman of the Liberty Justice Center, joins Peter to dissec...

Most donors overlook the one thing that could undermine their entire legacy: donor intent—and a simple strategy to safeguard it. In this episode of Giving Ventures, we’re sharing a recent webinar we hosted for our clients on the topic of donor intent. Kim Dennis, co-founder of DonorsTrust and a longtime advocate for protecting donor intent, reveals how the concept of donor intent was born out of r...

Most state-level political breakthroughs happen when social entrepreneurs step up — but few leverage the full potential of strategic philanthropy and advocacy. Matt Brouillette, the architect behind Pennsylvania’s powerful free-market movement, reveals the blueprint social entrepreneurs can follow to transform states from within. This episode of Giving Ventures explores the unique role of entrepre...

Filmmaker and Acton Institute scholar Michael Matheson Miller joins Peter to discuss poverty in America. Back in 2014, Michael directed Poverty, Inc., an award-winning documentary that investigated and challenged the multi-billion-dollar poverty industrial complex around the world. His soon-coming film is Poverty Trap, which turns its attention to the failures of America's anti-poverty efforts.

There is a Hall of Fame for just about everything in this country. But where is the Hall of Fame celebrating the inventors, the creators, the entrepreneurs that have made America so great? Well, there isn't one yet. However, the great social entrepreneur John Tillman is working on a $350 million project aimed at building a hall of fame for entrepreneurship and American innovation, which he is call...

Many people underestimate how fragile liberty really is and how much it relies on a vibrant global movement. Brad Lips, CEO of Atlas Network, pulls back the curtain on the strategies empowering think tanks worldwide to defend freedom, fight corruption, and lift communities out of poverty. Brad describes how Atlas Network’s "Coach, Compete, Celebrate" model accelerates achievement among liberty adv...

In recent years, advocates of school choice have celebrated significant legislative victories. In many states, the challenge now lies in transforming these wins into tangible opportunities for families by building up new schools. This episode of Giving Ventures explores the challenges and opportunities of the implementation phase of school choice with two distinguished guests. Tommy Schultz, CEO o...

For the past decade, one entity has become predominant in secretive giving on the left of the political spectrum: Arabella Advisors. It goes by a lot of different names, like the New Venture Fund, the Windward Fund, 1630 Fund. This panoply of organizations represents hundreds of nonprofit entities ranging from full-fledged 501(c)3s and 501(c)4s to astroturf groups that only exist as websites. Bill...

America's national debt now has surpassed $38 trillion, and we're adding another $2 trillion each year with our deficit spending. The situation is even more bleak when you consider our unfunded liabilities for the future. Couple that with the cliffs we're facing on Social Security, the continued problems with Medicare and Medicaid that we're seeing play out in Congress now: It feels like an insurm...

We want our doctors to treat us as individuals, not members of an identity group, and we would hope that our medical establishments would resist today's fixation on identity politics. But unfortunately, that's not the case . We have seen identity politics creep into doctors' offices and medical schools, and we've seen its negative effects, particularly in the fight over gender-affirming care. In t...

Here at DonorsTrust, we've mostly focused on the charitable giving provisions of the One Big Beautiful Bill Act, signed into law by President Trump earlier this year. But the big bill also brought about some significant changes to America's welfare programs. Emphasizing work requirements and accountability, this legislation has the potential to transform lives and foster economic independence. Tar...

2026 marks 250 years since our Founding Fathers declared their independence July 4, 1776. The fireworks are sure to be bigger and many Americans will pause to reflect on the meaning of our country's founding. Many charities supported by the DonorsTrust community of givers have already begun producing materials and planning events to help us all think about the values that inspired our Founders to...