THALIA BEATY

Philanthropy reporter

Beaty reports on philanthropy for The Associated Press and is based in New York.
FILE - Dwayne Johnson attends the world premiere of "Black Adam" in New York on Oct. 12, 2022, left, and Oprah Winfrey appears at the Essence Festival of Culture in New Orleans on June 30, 2023. The nonprofit Entertainment Industry Foundation says the People's Fund of Maui, which was started by Winfrey and Johnson to benefit survivors of the wildfires last summer, has given away almost $60 million over six months to 8,100 adults. (AP Photo)
Oprah Winfrey and Dwayne Johnson pledged $10M for Maui wildfire survivors. They gave much more
The Entertainment Industry Foundation says the People’s Fund of Maui, an initiative started by Oprah Winfrey and Dwayne Johnson to benefit survivors of the wildfires in Maui, has given away almost $60 million.
 
FILE - Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party, March 4, 2018, in Beverly Hills, Calif. Scott announced Tuesday, March 19, 2024 she would give $640 million to more than 360 organizations in response to an application process she launched last year. The award is more than double the amount that she initially promised in an “open call” for applications. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
What is next for billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott’s giving?
Much about billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott’s giving remains a mystery, but a recent round of grants to nonprofits offer some insights.
 
FILE - Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party, March 4, 2018, in Beverly Hills, Calif. Scott announced Tuesday, March 19, 2024 she would give $640 million to more than 360 organizations in response to an application process she launched last year. The award is more than double the amount that she initially promised in an “open call” for applications. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
MacKenzie Scott donates $640 million, more than doubling her planned gifts to nonprofit applicants
The billionaire philanthropist and author MacKenzie Scott announced Tuesday she would give $640 million to more than 360 organizations in response to an application process she launched last year.
 
The Michigan Central Station is seen, Monday, March 18, 2024, in Detroit. Bill Ford, executive chair of Ford Motor Co., and his wife Lisa Ford are raising $10 million to help ten Detroit nonprofit organizations that serve young people start endowments. Lisa Ford said the campaign comes alongside Ford's investment in the refurbishment of the long abandoned train station. (AP Photo/Carlos Osorio)
Bill and Lisa Ford to raise $10M for Detroit youth nonprofit endowments
Bill Ford, executive chair of Ford Motor Co., and his wife Lisa Ford are raising $10 million to help ten Detroit nonprofits serving young people start endowments.
 
Harrison, a French bulldog, is seen in the surgery prep area at the Schwarzman Animal Medical Center, Friday, March 8, 2024, in New York. Harrision is a familiar sight having previously been cared for by the hospital's surgery, neurology, internal medicine and dental teams. (AP Photo/Mary Altaffer)
From Frenchies to rescue cats, New York’s trauma center for animals takes the most complex cases
The Schwarzman Animal Medical Center in New York City is one of a handful of veterinary hospitals across the country that is equipped to handle the most complicated cases.
 
FILE - George Soros, Founder and Chairman of the Open Society Foundations, looks before the Joseph A. Schumpeter award ceremony in Vienna, Austria, June 21, 2019. Soros' Open Society Foundations announced a leadership change Monday, March 11, 2024 with its president Mark Malloch-Brown stepping down and a senior leader, Binaifer Nowrojee, appointed to the role. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak, File)
George Soros’ Open Society Foundations name new president after years of layoffs and transition
George Soros’ Open Society Foundations announced a leadership change Monday with its president Mark Malloch-Brown stepping down in June.
 
FILE - OpenAI CEO Sam Altman participates in the "Technology in a turbulent world" panel discussion during the annual meeting of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, on Jan. 18, 2024. Elon Musk is suing OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman over what he says is a betrayal of the ChatGPT maker's founding aims of benefiting humanity rather than pursuing profits. In a lawsuit filed Thursday Feb. 29, 2024 at San Francisco Superior Court, billionaire Musk said that when he bankrolled OpenAI's creation, he secured an agreement with Altman and Greg Brockman, the president, to keep the AI company as a non-profit that would develop technology for the benefit of the public. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, File)
Elon Musk sues OpenAI and CEO Sam Altman, claiming betrayal of its goal to benefit humanity
Elon Musk is suing OpenAI and its CEO Sam Altman over what he says is a betrayal of the ChatGPT maker’s founding aims of benefiting humanity rather than pursuing profits.
 
This undated photo shows oral historian Francine D. Spang-Willis, who is leading a project to create a land stewardship plan for the Crazy Mountains near Bozeman, Mont. She was named an Emerson Collective fellow on Wednesday, Feb. 28, 2024. Emerson Collective is the philanthropy of Laurene Powell Jobs. ( Francine D. Spang-Willis via AP)
Emerson Collective, Laurene Powell Jobs’ org, looks to local leaders to bridge divides
Laurene Powell Jobs’ philanthropy Emerson Collective announced Wednesday its fifth cohort of Emerson fellows.
 
Women learn to use a chatbot powered by artificial intelligence developed by Myna Mahila Foundation at the local women's organization’s office in Mumbai, India, Feb. 1, 2024. The chatbot, currently a pilot project, represents what many hope will be part of the impact of AI on health care around the globe: to deliver accurate medical information in personalized responses that can reach many more people than in-person clinics or trained medical workers. (AP Photo/Rafiq Maqbool)
How AI health care chatbots learn from the questions of an Indian women’s organization
A women’s organization in Mumbai, India, is training a chatbot powered by artificial intelligence with the help of women like 32-year-old Komal Vilas Thatkare.
 
Boston Celtics forward Jayson Tatum (0) dunks to score in the second half of an NBA basketball game against the Memphis Grizzlies, Sunday, Feb. 4, 2024, in Boston. (AP Photo/Steven Senne)
Celtics star Jayson Tatum gets $1 million gift from SoFi to help people buy homes in St. Louis
Boston Celtics power forward Jayson Tatum announced Tuesday a gift of $1 million from the financial services company SoFi to his nonprofit.
 
FILE - Arian Simone, left, and Ayana Parsons, right, of the Fearless Fund, attend a news conference, Aug. 10, 2023, in New York. Foundations and major donors aren't just watching court cases like the Supreme Court’s June decision ending affirmative action at universities, the ongoing lawsuit against a grant program aimed at supporting Black women entrepreneurs, and other legal challenges targeting corporate diversity programs. They are mobilizing to respond. One battleground will be the lawsuit challenging grants from the Fearless Fund, which awarded $20,000 to businesses that are at least 51% owned by Black women, among other requirements. (AP Photo/Frank Franklin II, File)
As DEI policies come under legal attack, philanthropic donors consider how to adapt
Foundations and major donors are mobilizing to respond to court cases like the Supreme Court’s June decision ending affirmative action at universities.
 
FILE - Fans stand in support for Buffalo Bills safety Damar Hamlin before an NFL football game against the New England Patriots, Jan. 8, 2023, in Orchard Park, N.Y. Damar Hamlin plans to support young people through education and sports with the $8.6 million in GoFundMe donations that unexpectedly poured into his toy drive fundraiser after he suffered a cardiac arrest in the middle of a game. GoFundMe crowdfunding campaigns have generated $30 billion since 2010, the fundraising platform announced Tuesday, Feb. 6, 2024. (AP Photo/Adrian Kraus, File)
GoFundMe says $30 billion has been raised on its crowdfunding and nonprofit giving platforms
GoFundMe crowdfunding campaigns have generated $30 billion since 2010, the fundraising platform announced Tuesday, as younger generations look beyond institutions to make their donations.
 
FILE - Bill Gates takes part in a panel at the Annual Meeting of World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland, Jan. 17, 2024. The CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, Mark Suzman, called on billionaires to give away more of their money to address inequality and to do it soon in an annual letter released Thursday, Jan. 25. (AP Photo/Markus Schreiber, file)
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation CEO calls for billionaires to give away more and soon
The CEO of the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation is calling on billionaires to give away more of their money to address inequality and to do it soon.
 
FILE - Michigan running back Blake Corum (2) runs in for a touchdown past Alabama defensive back Kool-Aid McKinstry (1) during overtime at the Rose Bowl CFP NCAA semifinal college football game Jan. 1, 2024, in Pasadena, Calif. Nonprofits Hail! Impact, which supports the University of Michigan's Wolverines, and Montlake Futures, which supports athletes at the University of Washington, are set to benefit regardless of who wins the national championship. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong, File)
NIL nonprofits can’t lose in College Football Playoff championship
No matter who takes home the College Football Playoff championship Monday night in Houston, a rare nonprofit from the murky, still-developing world of Name, Image, Likeness programs is set to come out on top.
 
FILE - Michigan running back Blake Corum (2) runs in for a touchdown past Alabama defensive back Kool-Aid McKinstry (1) during overtime at the Rose Bowl CFP NCAA semifinal college football game Jan. 1, 2024, in Pasadena, Calif. Nonprofits Hail! Impact, which supports the University of Michigan's Wolverines, and Montlake Futures, which supports athletes at the University of Washington, are set to benefit regardless of who wins the national championship. (AP Photo/Kyusung Gong, File)
NIL nonprofits can’t lose in College Football Playoff championship
No matter who takes home the College Football Playoff championship Monday night in Houston, a rare nonprofit from the murky, still-developing world of Name, Image, Likeness programs is set to come out on top.
 
FILE - A Utah Food Bank volunteer carries groceries for the needy at a mobile food pantry distribution site Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022, in Salt Lake City. The end of the calendar year is when nonprofits make appeals far and wide to attract donors — in part because of holiday traditions or, for some, tax advantages. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)
In the season for giving, a guide for how to give — even a little
Christmas is over, but giving season for nonprofits is just starting to peak. The end of the calendar year is when nonprofits make appeals far and wide to attract donors.
 
Larry Kramer is shown in an undated photo. Kramer, the longtime president of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, will step down from his role at the end of 2023. (Nancy Rothstein Photography via AP)
Larry Kramer, outgoing CEO of mega climate funder the Hewlett Foundation, looks back on his tenure
The longtime president of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, Larry Kramer, will step down from his role at the end of 2023.
 
Activists demonstrate for rural people, food, land and climate justice at the COP28 U.N. Climate Summit, Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023, in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. (AP Photo/Kamran Jebreili)
At least $2.1 billion in new funds pledged at COP28, as foundations focus on health and agriculture
With the United Nations climate talks wrapping up in Dubai, foundations and other funders pledged at least $2.1 billion in new financing to reduce climate impacts, especially from agriculture.
 
FILE - Billionaire philanthropist MacKenzie Scott arrives at the Vanity Fair Oscar Party, March 4, 2018, in Beverly Hills, Calif. Scott publicized some $2.1 billion that she's made in charitable donations since November 2022, in a post Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023, on her website Yield Giving.(Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott reveals the groups that got some of her $2.1 billion in gifts in 2023
Philanthropist MacKenzie Scott gave $2.1 billion in donations since November 2022, she said in an online post, bringing her total reported giving to more than $16 billion since 2019.
 
Laura McAloon, Grand Island City Administrator, poses for a photo on Wednesday, Dec. 6, 2023, in Grand Island, Nebraska. McAloon observed that many workers and students were walking or biking long distances to their jobs or schools. So when she learned of an opportunity to study the development of a bus system to meet those transportation needs, she jumped at it. The opportunity was funded by the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced Thursday, Dec. 7, 2023, that it will donate $100 million over four years to expand its work on economic mobility in the U.S., which will include helping people without college degrees find jobs and connecting people with government benefits for which they are eligible. (AP Photo/John Peterson)
Gates Foundation takes on poverty in the U.S. with $100 million commitment
The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation announced Thursday that it will donate $100 million to expand its work on economic mobility in the U.S.
 
FILE - George Soros, Founder and Chairman of the Open Society Foundations, looks before the Joseph A. Schumpeter award ceremony in Vienna, Austria, Friday, June 21, 2019. The major philanthropy, Open Society Foundations, has committed $50 million to increase civic engagement among women and youth over the next three years as part of its strategy to support democracy in the U.S. (AP Photo/Ronald Zak, File)
Open Society Foundations commit $50M to women and youth groups’ work on democracy
The major philanthropy, Open Society Foundations, said Tuesday it will commit $50 million to increase civic engagement among women and youth over the next three years as part of its strategy to support democracy in the U.S.
 
FILE - Utah Food Bank volunteers load groceries for the needy at a mobile food pantry distribution site Wednesday, Dec. 21, 2022, in Salt Lake City. Supporting nonprofits on GivingTuesday this year could have a bigger impact than usual as nonprofits and industry groups say donations so far are down compared with previous years. Many organizations will be looking to make up the difference on GivingTuesday, which is the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, Nov. 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Rick Bowmer)
Total GivingTuesday donations were flat this year, but 10% fewer people participated in the day
The nonprofit organization GivingTuesday estimates that donors gave $3.1 billion this year on what has become one of the most important fundraising dates for U.S. nonprofits, the Tuesday after Thanksgiving.
 
Monica Fulton poses at her home Monday, Nov. 20, 2023, in Houston. Fulton prioritizes giving to organizations that serve the city's residents, like the food bank, a homeless shelter and an arts education organization. The Tuesday after Thanksgiving, GivingTuesday started in 2012 as a hashtag and it has become a central part of nonprofit fundraising. (AP Photo/David J. Phillip)
Donors speak about what moves them and how they plan end-of-year donations
What motivates people to donate to charities or causes they care about is often deeply personal. Donors name relatives or friends who have survived or died from illnesses.
 
FILE - Sgt. Kevin Fowler organizes food at a food bank distribution by the Greater Cleveland Food Bank, Thursday, Jan. 7, 2021, in Cleveland. Supporting nonprofits on GivingTuesday this year could have a bigger impact than usual as nonprofits and industry groups say donations so far are down compared with previous years. Many organizations will be looking to make up the difference on GivingTuesday, which is the Tuesday after Thanksgiving, Nov. 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Tony Dejak File)
With donations down this year on GivingTuesday, organizations want to make up the difference
Supporting nonprofits on GivingTuesday this year could have a bigger impact than usual. That’s because nonprofits and industry groups say donations so far are down compared with previous years.
 
FILE - In this May 7, 2018 file photo, Berkshire Hathaway Chairman and CEO Warren Buffett speaks during an interview in Omaha, Neb. Buffett gifted 2,400,000 shares of Class B Berkshire Hathaway stock to charitable foundations run by his children on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik, File)
Warren Buffet donates Berkshire Hathaway shares to children’s foundations at Thanksgiving
Warren Buffett gifted 2,400,000 shares of Class B Berkshire Hathaway stock to charitable foundations run by his children on Tuesday.
 
FILE - Amazon founder Jeff Bezos is seen on the sidelines before the start of an NFL football game between the Kansas City Chiefs and the Los Angeles Chargers Thursday, Sept. 15, 2022, in Kansas City, Mo. Bezos’ fund to support homeless families announced $117 million in new grants on Tuesday, Nov. 21, 2023 to organizations across the U.S. and Puerto Rico. The grants are a part of a $2 billion commitment Bezos made in 2018 to support homeless families and to run free preschools. (AP Photo/Charlie Riedel, File)
Jeff Bezos’s fund has now given almost $640 million to help homeless families
Amazon founder Jeff Bezos’ fund to support homeless families announced $117 million in new grants on Tuesday to organizations across the U.S. and Puerto Rico.
 
FILE - Ibram X. Kendi attends the 73rd National Book Awards at Cipriani Wall Street on Wednesday, Nov. 16, 2022, in New York. Despite the recent announcement of layoffs and subsequent turmoil, funders of Ibram X. Kend's BU Center for Antiracist Research have not raised public concerns about its work. (Photo by Evan Agostini/Invision/AP, File)
Growing pains at Ibram X. Kendi’s antiracist center don’t signal a larger trend, experts say
In September, the award-winning author and academic Ibram X. Kendi and Boston University acknowledged that they were laying off most of the staff at the research center he runs.
 
FILE - In this Oct. 21, 2020, file photo, Ibram X. Kendi, director of Boston University's Center for Antiracist Research, stands for a portrait in Boston. Boston University said Tuesday, Nov. 7, 2023 that its initial inquiry into the antiracist research center run by Kendi found no issues with how it managed its finances. The university launched the inquiry into the financials of the BU Center for Antiracist Research in September, after acknowledging the organization was laying off a number of its staff and changing its operating model. (AP Photo/Steven Senne, File)
BU finds Ibram X. Kendi’s antiracist research center managed funds properly, despite turmoil
Boston University said Tuesday that its initial inquiry into the antiracist research center run by best-selling author and academic Ibram X.
 
Participants in the Summer Science Program sit in a circle at Purdue University in West Lafayette, Ind., on July 21, 2023. SSP has puzzled over what do to with a surprise bequest of an estimated $200 million — about 100 times its annual budget. (Christin Latus, Summer Science Program via AP Photo)
Summer Science Program spent $2 million last year serving 204 students. Then, they got a $200M gift
A small nonprofit, Summer Science Program, has puzzled for much of the last year over what do to with a surprise bequest of an estimated $200 million.
 
File - Director Stephen Gyllenhaal, left, and Dan Pallotta attend the premiere of "Uncharitable" on Sept. 21, 2023, in New York. The new documentary puts the long-running debate in the nonprofit sector over the role of overhead back in the spotlight. (Photo by Charles Sykes/Invision/AP, File)
Can the new film ‘Uncharitable’ change people’s minds about overhead at nonprofits?
A new documentary “Uncharitable,” from “Paris Trout” and “Losing Isaiah” director Stephen Gyllenhaal, puts the long-running debate in the nonprofit sector over the role of overhead back in the spotlight.
 
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