Giving Ventures

In recent years, the landscape of free speech on college campuses has become a battleground, with incidents of censorship and cancel culture making headlines. Yet, out of this challenge, a new wave of hope is rising—one led by passionate alumni who are taking action to restore open discourse.This episode features three leaders from organizations working tirelessly to promote free speech: Charles Mitchell from the Open Discourse Coalition, Todd Rulon-Miller from Princetonians for Free Speech, and Peter Bonilla from the MIT Free Speech Alliance. Each brings a unique perspective and strategy to this shared mission, showcasing how alumni can be pivotal in reshaping the academic environment.

Affordable housing is a persistent challenge in American politics. Bad public policy leads to artificial housing supply restrictions which causes prices to rise. But stimulating housing supply to bring costs down is a thorny issue.The latest episode of Giving Ventures brings together Sonja Trauss from Yes in My Backyard and Charles Gardner from the Mercatus Center to explore how grassroots advocacy and deregulation can make housing more abundant and more affordable. Sonja is the Founder and Executive Director of Yes in My Backyard (YIMBY), a grassroots organization that aims to address the housing shortage by advocating for policies that promote affordable housing. Charles is a Research Fellow at the Mercatus Center, where he explores housing policy, zoning, and land use. He brings a legal background and experience as an elected official in Connecticut to his work on housing policy.

From the challenges posed by technology use to political biases creeping into the therapist's office, America is experiencing something of a mental health crisis. To help address this critical issue, the Philanthropy Roundtable recently compiled a Mental Health Playbook that provides philanthropists with an introduction to the most effective organizations working to solve this crisis while remaining faithful to the principles of liberty, opportunity, and personal responsibility. As the Roundtable explained in a recent article, private philanthropy is "essential to confronting our nation’s mental health crisis" because "it’s flexible and nimble, allowing the most effective, unique approaches to emerge."To learn more about the Playbook and to get a look at two of the organizations it highlights, Peter assembled a panel for this episode of Giving Ventures.Esther Larson is the Senior Director of Programs at the Philanthropy Roundtable. She spearheaded the creation of the Mental Health Playbook, a resource designed to guide donors through the complex landscape of mental health funding.Dr. Andrew Hartz is the Founder and President of the Open Therapy Institute. A clinical psychologist by training, he focuses on removing bias within the counseling space to improve mental health care.Carolyn Gorman serves as a policy analyst at the Manhattan Institute, one of the country's leading think tanks. Her work concentrates on the policy challenges and potential solutions in the mental health sector.

This episode of Giving Ventures features a special interview with Senator James Lankford (R-OK), who provides a charitable-minded view from Capitol Hill. As one of the few U.S. Senators with extensive experience running a nonprofit, Lankford understands the needs and challenges of the charitable community and appreciates the role public policy can play in fostering a vibrant nonprofit sector.In this conversation, Peter and Senator Lankford discuss the state of charitable giving in America, the dangers posed to donor privacy, and how a new tax bill could incentivize more philanthropy.Senator Lankford has represented Oklahoma in the United States Senate since 2015 and, prior to his Senate service, represented the 5th District of Oklahoma in the U.S. House of Representatives from 2011 to 2015. Before entering public service, the Senator led the Falls Creek Baptist Conference Center in Oklahoma.

When conservatives discuss K-12 education, it can be tempting to cede public schools to their leftward drift and look to alternatives. And while Giving Ventures has featured some fantastic groups working in the school choice field, this episode is all about improving the public schools that educate 80% of our nation's school children.Giving our kids the best public education possible means engaging on the ground and at the local level, especially in our school boards. This episode features two impressive groups working to effect change at the school-board level.First, David Hoyt from School Boards for Academic Excellence describes his work equipping school board members to do their job effectively. SBAE has built an impressive network of state-based organizations and provides members with model policies, legal advice, and more.Then, Aiden Buzzetti from 1776 Project Foundation tells the story of how 1776 Project PAC was formed to help elect conservatives to local school boards before spinning out a 501(c)(3) non-profit foundation to arm board members with the policy expertise and know-how they need to reverse pandemic learning loss.

It's important that our elections earn the confidence of American voters. In recent years fraud allegations, lawsuits, and elections rules changes have cast doubt on the integrity of our elections. Thankfully, groups like Public Interest Legal Foundation and the Foundation for Government Accountability are working hard to ensure elections are administered fairly.In this episode of Giving Ventures, Peter checks in with J. Christian Adams of PILF and Madeline Malisa of FGA for a post-election breakdown. Together, Christian and Madeline address issues like mandatory voter identification, ranked-choice voting, and the importance of holding elections for one day only rather than letting ballots trickle in for weeks after Election Day.J. Christian Adams is president and general counsel for Public Interest Legal Foundation. He also serves as commissioner of the Presidential Advisory Commission on Election Integrity and previously served in the Voting Section at the United States Department of Justice.Madeline Malisa is a Senior Fellow at the Foundation for Government Accountability, where she is a policy and legal expert on election and initiative integrity. Prior to joining FGA, she served as chief counsel to Governor Paul LePage in the State of Maine.

This episode of Giving Ventures is a rerun of an evergreen conversation between Peter and author Gideon Bernstein about the upside of giving. Learn how the tragedy of Gideon's son's murder changed the way he views the world and his philanthropy. You won't want to miss this poignant conversation, especially if you need a fresh outlook and roadmap for your giving.

With the 2017 tax cuts about to expire and major leadership changes in the executive and legislative branches coming in January, now is a critical time for the future of philanthropy. Reforms to the tax code and IRS regulations about charitable giving will affect not only your tax bill and deductions but also the future of donor privacy, donor intent protection, and key considerations for estate planning.To think ahead about what's in store for conservative and libertarian charitable givers, DonorsTrust recently held a webinar conversation with three experts to explore coming policy changes. This episode of Giving Ventures brings that discussion to you. In the episode we hear from: Stephen Moore, an economist and advisor to President Trump. Steve was a key voice behind the scenes when Republican lawmakers drafted the 2017 Trump tax cuts and offers an inside look into what is likely to come in the second Trump administration.  Christie Herrera, President and CEO of Philanthropy Roundtable, the nation’s leading network for conservative givers. Christie's work gives her a close-up view to the myriad proposals in Congress and the IRS that would significantly alter philanthropic giving.  Michael Whitty, a seasoned expert in estate tax law and planning and partner at Smith Gambrell & Russell LLP in Chicago. Michael gives a view to the estate planning tools we can use as we consider possible changes to the tax code.

This Election Day, Giving Ventures brings you interviews with three groups working to expand the coalition of limited government, pro-liberty Americans by engaging independents who aren't already among the free-market fold.Scott Rasmussen is the founder of the Napolitan Institute, which was formed to deliver accurate, unbiased polling of the American people.Adam Brandon's work with the Independent Center advances the common-sense center of American politics and advocates for Americans who believe in genuine compromise.Christian Robey, president of Our America, which was established to unite a broad and diverse coalition of Americans around a shared sense of patriotism and advance principles like criminal justice reform, freedom of thought, and voter integrity.

Earlier this month, DonorsTrust partnered with the Goldwater Institute and the Arizona Free Enterprise Club for a special event in Phoenix, Arizona. At the event, Peter was joined by DonorsTrust philanthropic advisor Lukas Dwelly and Yellowstone Trust Administration executive vice president Randy Huston for a discussion about the powerful charitable tools you can employ in your planned giving.Lukas is a chartered philanthropic advisor, an accredited estate planner, and charted financial advisor. Randy is certified financial planner with expertise in charitable estate planning and has worked in the charitable trust field for nearly 40 years.In this episode, Lukas covers the basics of bequest gifts, life insurance, and leveraging the full power of your IRA. And Randy gives an excellent overview of charitable remainder trusts and charitable lead trusts. The panel discussion will help you think more strategically about the tools available to you, including donor-advised funds.