Samwise Nonprofits and Charities Newsletter
Saturday, July 11, 2026
Saturday Deep Dive
Today we step back from the daily news cycle and surface the best recent research and long-form analysis on nonprofit impact, philanthropy, and sector policy. Worth a slower read.
Trump’s Proposed Grant Rules Draw 100,000 Comments Ahead of July 13 Deadline
A federal proposal to overhaul grant administration rules drew approximately 100,000 public comments by Thursday, ahead of its July 13 deadline, according to Chronicle of Philanthropy reporter Alex Daniels. The Office of Management and Budget proposal would allow federal agencies to terminate grants at will, install political appointees as grant administrators, and bar organizations engaged in diversity, equity, and inclusion activities from receiving federal funding. Sarah Saadian, president of the National Council of Nonprofits, warned the proposal could effectively create a government-maintained blacklist of nonprofit grantees. Sen. Susan Collins submitted a formal request for a 90-day extension of the comment period, citing the breadth of the proposed changes. The rules, if finalized, would represent a significant restructuring of how federal grants are administered, with major implications for nonprofits that depend on federal funding.
Sources: Chronicle of Philanthropy Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Mistrust Built the Network: What Informal Survival Systems Teach Us About American Democracy
A historical analysis from Nonprofit Quarterly argues that American democracy has been sustained less by its formal institutions than by the mutual aid networks and community organizations that communities built when official systems excluded or abandoned them. Written by Ayomide Samuel, the piece traces this tradition from the Free African Society, founded in Philadelphia in 1787 after Black congregants were forcibly segregated at a Methodist church, through Indigenous governance structures, immigrant mutual benefit societies, labor networks, the AIDS crisis response, and COVID-era neighborhood aid pods. Samuel argues that justified distrust of the state has historically produced durable networks of reciprocity—organizations that also functioned as schools of democratic practice where people learned to manage shared resources and hold leaders accountable without official permission. The piece draws on historians Julie Winch and Jessica Gordon Nembhard and political theorist Danielle Allen.
Sources: Nonprofit Quarterly Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
How Black Churches Built the Civic Infrastructure That Kept the Nation Alive
Black churches have functioned as civic infrastructure for American democracy for more than two centuries—funding schools, organizing mutual aid, providing healthcare, and training political leaders—yet they remain largely underfunded by philanthropy, argues Augustina Boateng in a Nonprofit Quarterly analysis. Boateng traces this history from Reconstruction, when Black churches helped mobilize more than 2,000 newly enfranchised Black Americans into public office between 1868 and 1876, through the Montgomery Bus Boycott, during which congregations coordinated alternative transportation and sustained year-long fundraising under physical intimidation. Harvard historian Evelyn Brooks Higginbotham is cited throughout. During COVID-19, Black churches mobilized food distribution and vaccine outreach at a scale that government programs could not match in those communities. Boateng closes by asking whether philanthropy will fund, trust, and learn from institutions that have demonstrated two centuries of civic resilience.
Sources: Nonprofit Quarterly Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
AI Alone Isn’t Enough: Coordination Is What Really Matters
Nonprofits with the deepest levels of artificial intelligence integration save an average of $621 per employee per week, compared to an average of $503 across other surveyed organizations, according to a Blackbaud Institute survey of 1,400 nonprofit employees reported by Chronicle of Philanthropy senior editor Ben Gose. The survey found that only 10 percent of nonprofits have achieved what researchers term deep AI integration. A compliance gap also emerged: 56 percent of donors expect nonprofit organizations to disclose AI use, but only 26 percent of organizations report doing so. The research found that organizational coordination—how teams structure decision-making and workflows around AI tools—mattered more than the specific tools adopted. Fort Collins Habitat for Humanity was cited as a case example, having deployed an AI agent named “Val” to handle coordination tasks.
Sources: Chronicle of Philanthropy Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
How DC Central Kitchen Keeps Expanding While Other Nonprofits Shrink
DC Central Kitchen is serving 17,000 meals daily and continuing to expand despite ingredient costs rising more than 35 percent, according to Chronicle of Philanthropy reporter Stephanie Beasley. The organization, with approximately $43 million in assets and $40 million in annual revenue, operates through a model that blends earned income from commercial cafés with philanthropic support. Café revenue rose 45 percent last quarter, and the kitchen raised $282,000 toward a $300,000 funding gap. DC Central Kitchen employs more than 300 people. Major donors include MacKenzie Scott, who contributed $15 million in 2024, and the Marriott Foundation, which has given $21.3 million over 20 years. The article positions DC Central Kitchen as a case study in financial resilience at a time when many peer nonprofits are contracting.
Sources: Chronicle of Philanthropy Share ↗ ✉︎ Email 💬 Text
Curated by JD · samwise.agency
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