Ben Navarro turned a well-connected family and a bachelor’s degree in finance into a $3 billion nest egg in just over 30 years. Formerly a vice president of Citigroup, he left the investment bank to found his own, Sherman Financial Group, which currently owns Credit One Bank. Ben Navarro also owns two tennis clubs, and […]
Four organizations— the Annie E. Casey Foundation, Save the Children, StriveTogether, and Partners for Education at Berea College—have launched a new initiative aimed at bettering the lives of children in rural America. Called the Rural Accelerator Initiative, the program is designed to provide educational resources to children in pastoral communities that might not otherwise have […]
On Monday, Oct. 7, philanthropist Oprah Winfrey paid a visit to Atlanta’s Morehouse College to celebrate the 30th anniversary of her scholarship program. While there, the talk show host made a surprise announcement: she would donate an additional $13 million to the Oprah Winfrey Scholars Program, bringing her total investment to $25 million. Winfrey said […]
The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation is investing $3.3 million in prison education programs that are designed to help inmates reintegrate into society. “We know that higher-education-in-prison programs reduce violence inside prisons, improve incarcerated students’ ties with family and community in advance of parole, reduce rates of recidivism, and interrupt the cycle of intergenerational poverty,” said […]
A new survey conducted by Grantmakers for Education shows a significant shift in the education initiatives that donors are most interested in. For the past decade, donors have primarily focused their attention on K-12 reform, which covers issues related to teacher quality, standards, and assessments. However, the latest research shows that donors are less interested […]
Jeff Bezos is the richest man in the world, with a net worth in the realm of $160 billion. Money like that, wielded philanthropically, can alter the shape of the world. Bill Gates is already doing that, with his anti-disease efforts worldwide. Andrew Carnegie did it by donating nearly 3,000 libraries to towns and cities […]
In his endless quest to donate his money almost as fast as he makes it, Bill Gates has announced another philanthropic project. This time, he is taking on systemic poverty. On Thursday, May 3rd, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation announced that between now and 2022, they intend to spend $158 million on a variety of […]
U.S. Secretary of Education Betsy DeVos has come under plenty of criticism in her politics, including freely admitting that she and her family have spent millions of dollars in purchasing political advantage. But perhaps a recent move has bought her some grace for that past. DeVos’s yearly salary as secretary of education is $199,700. This […]
Franklin & Marshall College has introduced a radical new program that is designed to help students develop the characteristics that are most often associated with success. The program, called the Mehlman Talent Initiative, is funded by Ken Mehlman, who earned his B.A. from Franklin & Marshall College in 1988. Throughout his many years as a […]
Room to Read is a nonprofit that has been largely focused on global literacy since it’s inception. But since the year 2000, they have also developed a strong focus on girls’ education in countries like India, Cambodia, and Zambia. They operate programs in nine countries around the world, and they’ve come to realize that life […]