All posts tagged: Donations

AI becomes contentious issue in 2026 midterm elections over donations

AI becomes contentious issue in 2026 midterm elections over donations

Published by Sam Flores

The US Capitol during a rainstorm in Washington, DC, US, on Wednesday, March 4, 2026. Graeme Sloan | Bloomberg | Getty Images Funding from AI groups is becoming a flashpoint in the 2026 midterm elections, as a major political action committee that launched in 2025 with support from AI companies announced its latest fundraising haul. Super PAC Leading the Future will announce Wednesday it has raised $15 million in the first quarter of 2026 across all of its entities, bringing the group’s total haul for the 2026 election season to $140 million. The group’s backers include venture capital firm Andreessen Horowitz, OpenAI co-founder Greg Brockman, Palantir co-founder Joe Lonsdale, SV Angel founder Ron Conway and AI software company Perplexity. The group has backed candidates of both parties in the midterms. It also recently endorsed five House Democrats: Reps. Josh Gottheimer (D-N.J.), Sam Liccardo (D-Calif.), Yvette Clarke (D-N.Y.), Suhas Subramanyam (D-Va.) and Jimmy Gomez (D-Calif.). But a coalition of groups led by The Tech Oversight Project, an advocacy group that seeks to break up big tech companies, is pressuring those same Democrats to …

Palantir-linked campaign donations put Democrats in tight spot

Palantir-linked campaign donations put Democrats in tight spot

Published by Sam Flores

Campaign contributions from Palantir are becoming a thorn in the side of Democrats in the midterms, as lawmakers on the left dig into the Trump administration’s immigration efforts and the controversial tech company’s involvement. Several Democratic candidates have returned or donated funds from top Palantir executives and the company’s political action committee (PAC), distancing themselves… Source link

TLC’s Chilli claims donations to Trump campaign were a ‘mistake,’ says she’s not MAGA

TLC’s Chilli claims donations to Trump campaign were a ‘mistake,’ says she’s not MAGA

Published by Daniella Wilson

Get the inside track from Roisin O’Connor with our free weekly music newsletter Now Hear This Get our free music newsletter Now Hear This Get our free music newsletter Now Hear This TLC member Rozonda “Chilli” Thomas has clarified that she does not support Donald Trump’s MAGA movement after FEC records showed she had made several donations to his 2024 presidential campaign. Over the weekend, the 55-year-old R&B singer made headlines after federal political donation records emerged showing that she had made donations totalling $210.60 to WinRed, the payment processor for Republican campaign donations, $340.60 to the Trump National Committee JFC, and $486.54 to Never Surrender Inc., a political fundraising group with links to Trump. Responding to criticism from some fans in a recent Instagram statement, Thomas wrote: “I WANT TO BE CLEAR: I am not MAGA and do not support any of the many policies that are causing great harm to the American people.” “I made a mistake too many make: I did not read the fine print. I thought I was supporting causes …

Politics Home Article | Political Donations From Overseas To Be Capped At £100,000

Politics Home Article | Political Donations From Overseas To Be Capped At £100,000

Published by Sam Flores

3 min read2 hr Political donations from British citizens living overseas will be capped at £100,000 as part of a major reform to the role of money in politics. The government has also imposed an immediate and retrospective ban on all political donations made via cryptocurrency.  The new restrictions on who can donate to political parties were announced on Wednesday in response to an independent review by former senior civil servant Philip Rycroft, which warned that the “persistent problem” of foreign interests seeking to influence British political life had become “more acute” in recent years.  The new rules are expected to be felt particularly by Nigel Farage’s Reform UK, which has received around £12m in the last year from Thailand-based British businessman Christopher Harborne, and which is the only political party to have received donations in cryptocurrency.  The review was commissioned in December by Communities Secretary Steve Reed. The Labour government has committed to implementing its 17 recommendations in full. Speaking in the House of Commons on Wednesday, Reed said the decision to cap donations retrospectively was necessary to prevent exploitation of …

Epstein Donations to New York Academy of Art Will Be Given to Charity

Epstein Donations to New York Academy of Art Will Be Given to Charity

Published by José Betancourt

The New York Academy of Art said Friday that it will give away money donated by the disgraced financier Jeffrey Epstein after newly released Justice Department files shed new light on his ties to the institution. According to the New York Times, the school said it plans to donate $65,900 linked to Epstein to a nonprofit that supports victims of human trafficking. It had previously redirected another $30,000 he had given to the academy. In an email sent to students and alumni, the academy’s board acknowledged what it described as “serious failures in judgment and governance” in maintaining connections with Epstein after his criminal conduct had become known. The school also said it would review its policies around philanthropy and donor engagement. Related Articles The New York Academy of Art was just one of Epstein’s myriad connections to the art world. He served on the academy’s board in the early 1990s and remained involved with the institution for years afterward. According to recently released federal documents, he attended fundraising events such as the Tribeca Ball and the school’s “Take …

The Overhead-Free Strategy That Tripled Donations

The Overhead-Free Strategy That Tripled Donations

Published by Jenni Sidey

Scott Harrison, founder and CEO of the nonprofit charity: water faced a brutal reality. His nonprofit was caught in the same exhausting cycle that torments every charitable organization: the annual donor exodus. Year after year, the vast majority of supporters would vanish, forcing the team to rebuild their entire funding base from scratch. Harrison brought an unusual perspective. Before founding charity: water, he’d mastered persuasion psychology in Manhattan’s club scene. He suspected that traditional nonprofit thinking was missing something fundamental about human nature. The Fundraising Puzzle The fundraising playbook seemed carved in stone. For decades, nonprofits had relied on two primary strategies: showcasing early commitments from major backers and promising to multiply every gift through matching programs. Both approaches enjoyed robust academic support and widespread adoption. The problem is that when you donate $100 to most charities, maybe $75 goes to programs (e.g., wells) and $25 goes to overhead (e.g., salaries, rent). Donors often view that $25 as “waste” even though it’s necessary to run the organization effectively. So, charity: water’s solution was to get …

Wave of donations helps to secure Cerne giant’s home

Wave of donations helps to secure Cerne giant’s home

Published by Jenni Sidey

A fundraising appeal to protect one of Britain’s most enigmatic ancient monuments, the Cerne Giant, has drawn international support, underscoring the global fascination with the site. The 180-foot chalk figure carved into a hillside in the county of Dorset is a domineering presence, largely thanks to its erect appendage.   On Tuesday, the National Trust announced it had reached its target to purchase surrounding land near the giant, after donations from more than 20 countries, including Australia, Japan, and Iceland. The funds will be used to safeguard public access to the figure, protect local wildlife, and support further archaeological research into the monument’s origins. Related Articles Long associated with English folklore, the Cerne Giant has inspired centuries of speculation. Theories have ranged from the figure representing a Celtic deity or fertility symbol to a satirical depiction of Oliver Cromwell. In 2021, National Trust archaeologists concluded that the giant was likely carved between AD 700 and 1100, though its precise purpose remains unclear. “The giant is a folk icon with a mystical quality that draws interest …

Teen athlete turns devastating knee injury into LEGO donations for young patients

Teen athlete turns devastating knee injury into LEGO donations for young patients

Published by Jenni Sidey

A devastating sports injury can often end a season, or even a career. For Connecticut teenager Devin Brenner, it also sparked an unexpected mission to help other young patients cope with long hospital recoveries. Brenner, now 18, was treated at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York City after suffering one of the most severe knee injuries seen in sports medicine. During a long jump competition at age 16, he dislocated his knee and tore all four major ligaments. The injury required complex reconstructive surgery and nearly a year of rehabilitation. Along the way, a childhood hobby helped him stay grounded and hopeful which he ultimately turned into a mission to help others cope. Ranawat performed what surgeons call an “around the world” procedure, reconstructing all four ligaments in a single operation. (CREDIT: ABC 7 Eyewitness News) A Rare Injury and a High-Risk Surgery After the injury, Brenner and his family consulted several orthopedic surgeons in Connecticut. Many felt the case was too complex. He was then referred to Dr. Ranawat, chief of hip …