It’s hard to believe that we’re at the end of 2021 and that The Whitman Institute will be closing down in a matter of months. This last stretch of the road is certainly not what we originally envisioned when we decided to spend out a decade ago. We closed the office a year earlier than…
In 2015, I wrote a reflection as I concluded my first year as a funder, a timestamp in my life that goes something like this: pre-baby, pre-Trump, pre-wildfires, pre-COVID, pre-George Floyd-inspired acceleration of racial reckoning. At that time, I was preoccupied with how to keep my ego from inflating as a side effect of becoming…
By Ellen Friedman , Glen Galaich, and Pia Infante Reposted with permission of The Chronicle of Philanthropy As our nation grapples with a confluence of crises, philanthropy is abuzz with how best to respond. Some are increasing payouts. Others are allowing grantees more flexibility in how they spend funds. A few have issued bonds to…
When we last wrote a reflection on TWI’s spend out, we lifted up our uncertainty and vulnerability as we looked to 2022 as well as our commitment to being transparent about the journey ahead. Here we are, over a year later, and uncertainty and vulnerability remain constant companions – as they are for just about…
In 2012 The Whitman Institute made the decision to spend out our endowment over 10 years. At the time, 2022 was a distant point on the horizon; now, not so much. What felt theoretical is becoming more real with each passing month and we are feeling more strongly the hint of urgency that comes with…