Foundation to Increase Giving in Response to Trump 'Crisis'

The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation will increase its giving over the next two years in response to what it calls a crisis prompted by the Trump administration's freeze on federal foreign aid and the now-suspended freeze on federal grants. "This is a major crisis for our sector, and it's a time when those of us who can do more should do more," John Palfrey, foundation president, told the AP on Wednesday. Palfrey announced the increase in a post on the foundation's website, saying, "The cliff of funding from federal programs has sent budgets underwater in field after field, and people and communities in the United States and abroad will suffer."

Palfrey said the foundation would increase giving from 5% of its endowment, which is the minimum required by the Internal Revenue Service, to at least 6% for the next two years. The foundation, known for its "genius grants," reported $8.7 billion in assets in 2023, and it pays out around $400 million annually. Palfrey said he expected to grant out around $150 million more over the next two years. In his first days in office, President Trump suspended foreign aid and directed the Office of Management and Budget to temporarily suspend all federal grants and contracts. Trump said he wanted to review whether all the grants aligned with his policies.

The US is the largest funder of global humanitarian responses, spending $68 billion on foreign aid in 2023. In 2021, nonprofits reported receiving $267 billion in government grants, according to an analysis of the tax forms by the Urban Institute. In comparison, foundations granted out $103 billion in 2023, according to research from GivingUSA. Palfrey called on other foundations to join the commitment. Freedom Together Foundation, formerly the JPB Foundation, announced that it would double its grantmaking to 10% of its endowment in response to Trump's policies, per the AP. "Philanthropy should act in a different way than we have in the past, which is historically, we've simply given out more money when the stock market has gone up and we've given out less money, then the stock market has gone down," Palfrey said.

(More MacArthur Foundation stories.)