
Just as the Covid crisis exploded last year, we called on philanthropy to increase giving and do it quickly to mitigate the worst of the social and economic harm unfolding before our eyes. We knew there was a real risk that grant makers might reflexively pull back to preserve endowments as markets began to tumble, as many had done in the financial downturn of 2008. Encouragingly, in the immediate days, weeks, and months that followed, foundations across the United States made commitments to maintain or increase levels of giving.