For better or worse, philanthropy continues to be a major force that shapes the cities we know and love. Donor-advised funds have been around for a while, but over the past few years they’ve increased dramatically in popularity. It is, in part, a symptom of a society where those in power have set the rules to reinforce inequality — the rich get richer, no matter how hard they try otherwise. Mackenzie Scott has made headlines giving away $12 billion since her divorce from Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, yet her net worth over the same period has grown by an estimated $14 billion. She can’t give money away fast enough. Donor-advised funds are designed, in part, as a way to give money away faster than setting up a foundation, and yet the economy has found a way to derive an additional boost to inequality by mining these funds for wealth management fees that add to inequality. Can philanthropy ever work differently? A few folks in today's lead story think it can.
What do you think about philanthropy and the role it’s long played in shaping cities? I’d love to hear from you at oscar@nextcity.org.
Oscar Perry Abello
Senior Economics Correspondent, Next City
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