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When federal funding for nonprofits started disappearing last year, the Marguerite Casey Foundation didn’t put out a pithy statement, they pulled out their checkbook. The foundation cranked up its grantmaking from around $30 million to $130 million in a single year. Now the foundation has pledged half a billion dollars over the next decade, 50% more than it gave the decade before.
Carmen Rojas, the foundation’s president and CEO, says its mission matters more than the size of its endowment, and the guy who has to manage the money and write those checks, VP of Investment and Operations Daniel Gould, is just fine with it.
On this episode of Let’s Hear It, Eric talks with Carmen and Dan about how the Marguerite Casey Foundation pulled it off – from working with their board, managing the money, and creating a culture that believes that compounding the foundation’s benefit to the community is way better than compounding the interest on their endowment.
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Guests
- Dr. Carmen Rojas, President and CEO, Marguerite Casey Foundation
- Daniel Gould, Vice President of Investments and Operations, Marguerite Casey Foundation
Marguerite Casey Foundation: https://caseygrants.org
The commitment
- Marguerite Casey Foundation commits to giving at least $500 million over the next decade: https://caseygrants.org/inside-mcf/marguerite-casey-foundation-commits-to-giving-at-least-500-million-over-the-next-decade-adds-ta-nehisi-coates-and-paola-ramos-as-new-board-members
- AP, via the Chronicle of Philanthropy: Marguerite Casey Foundation plans to give at least $50M annually: https://www.philanthropy.com/news/marguerite-casey-foundation-plans-to-give-at-least-50m-annually/
- Chronicle of Philanthropy: Why a foundation quadrupled its grant-making: https://www.philanthropy.com/news/why-a-foundation-quadrupled-its-grant-making/
- Carmen Rojas on the TIME100 Philanthropy list: https://time.com/collection/time100-philanthropy/2026/carmen-rojas/
Research and books mentioned
- Center for Effective Philanthropy, A Sector in Crisis: https://cep.org/news/press-releases/new-cep-study-reveals-a-nonprofit-sector-in-crisis/
- Gary Community Ventures, Impermanence in Philanthropy: https://garycommunity.org/impermanence/
- The Radical Fund by John Fabian Witt: https://www.simonandschuster.net/books/The-Radical-Fund/John-Fabian-Witt/9781476765877
Foundations and organizations mentioned
- Walter & Elise Haas Fund: https://www.haassr.org
- Steelcase Foundation: https://www.steelcasefoundation.org
- Stupski Foundation: https://stupski.org
- Confluence Philanthropy: https://www.confluencephilanthropy.org
- Kenneth Rainin Foundation’s arts real estate strategy: https://krfoundation.org/our-work/arts/arts-initiatives/the-rainin-arts-real-estate-strategy/
- Prebys Foundation’s purchase of Wells Fargo Plaza in downtown San Diego: https://www.prebysfdn.org/stories/blog/news/wells-fargo-plaza
Our sponsors
- Prebys Foundation and the Stop & Talk podcast: https://stopandtalkpodcast.com
- Lumina Foundation and the Today’s Students, Tomorrow’s Talent podcast: https://www.luminafoundation.org
- Stupski Foundation and the Break Fake Rules podcast: https://stupski.org/break-fake-rules/
