Name one philanthropic area that should get more attention and funding. Name one that should get less.

Nothing humans do inflicts as much suffering on as many sentient beings as factory farming. Around 200 billion vertebrate animals are raised on factory farms each year. It’s impossible to comprehend such a large number. The agribusiness corporations that dominate industrial meat, fish, egg and milk production regard animals as mere commodities. If crowding more animals into a shed lowers the costs of production, that will be done, no matter how much it stresses the animals, and even if more of them die as a result of the crowding. Yet far more philanthropic dollars go to shelters caring for a comparatively miniscule number of stray dogs and cats than to organizations seeking to reduce the suffering of factory-farmed animals. These organizations need more funding.

What philanthropic area should get less funding? Opera. Not that I have anything against opera itself — it’s just that I can’t see why taxpayers who have no interest in opera should subsidize wealthy opera lovers who take a tax deduction for donating to New York’s Metropolitan Opera.

Peter Singer is the Ira W. DeCamp Professor of Bioethics Emeritus at Princeton University, the V.K. Rajah Professor in Medical Ethics at the National University of Singapore and co-host of the podcast “Lives Well Lived.”

Philanthropy should give far more attention, and far more trust, to flexible funding. When donors allow organizations like UNICEF to adapt resources to real-time needs, responses become faster, more equitable and more effective. Flexible funding saves lives in sudden-onset emergencies, when children’s safety hinges on immediate action, and it sustains communities through protracted crises where needs remain urgent even when global attention fades. It enables holistic, child-centered programming across health, education and protection; supports the expert staff, systems and institutions that keep children safe; and strengthens localization by allowing responses that reflect community priorities rather than rigid project designs.

At the same time, the sector would benefit from rebalancing away from a heavy reliance on in-kind contributions. Shipments of goods, while well-intentioned, can be slow to deliver, expensive to move and sometimes mismatched to local realities. In-kind aid will always have a place in emergencies, but philanthropy should lean toward models that empower choice rather than prescribe.

Redirecting even a portion of in-kind resources toward flexible, needs-based approaches would make every philanthropic dollar go further and, more importantly, affirm a core principle: that children and families in crisis deserve responses rooted not just in generosity, but in dignity, agency and long-term impact.

Darla Silva is chief program officer at UNICEF USA.

Philanthropy has never faced more urgent choices — or a higher stakes moment. From advancing the energy transition to supporting women’s health to conserving tropical forests to ensuring vulnerable children survive and thrive, the needs are vast in the U.S. and around the world — especially with declining foreign aid.

But one cause stands out right now: preserving our democracy. (The Bridgespan Group, where I am a partner, has clients in this space, though it is not our largest practice.) Free and fair elections, checks and balances, information integrity, and a functioning and accountable government are the foundations that enable our nation to move forward. When those foundations erode, progress falters on all fronts. Investing in democracy is effectively an investment in every cause. Numerous organizations — nonpartisan, explicitly bipartisan and partisan — are working to maintain the foundations of our democracy and strengthen the rule of law. They deserve more of our support.

If there is one area that deserves less attention, it is donors’ habits of giving to their (often well-resourced) alma maters, hospitals and cultural institutions. Those gifts are generous, but they are also safe. “Philanthropy” means “love of humanity.” Living up to that requires us to extend beyond personal ties toward the deeper civic, social and planetary needs in the U.S. and beyond.

Chris Addy is a partner at The Bridgespan Group, which is a not-for-profit adviser to nonprofits, philanthropists and impact investors.

Philanthropy should turn more of its attention toward expanding diplomacy beyond the confines of government. America’s standing in the world no longer rests solely on official envoys or cabinet agencies. It depends on a broader constellation of leaders — business executives, scientists, mayors and governors, cultural icons, athletes and others — who increasingly shape and sustain the relationships underpinning our foreign policy. You do not need a State Department badge to advance America’s interests. These individuals are on the front lines of international engagement, opening doors traditional diplomacy cannot and forging ties that last beyond the ebb and flow of political cycles.

Philanthropy can unlock this strength by investing in what is, in effect, geopolitical resilience: the education networks and cross-border programs that prepare leaders to navigate a volatile world. Strengthening this wider diplomatic ecosystem is one of the most underfunded — and highest-impact — opportunities.

What deserves less attention are approaches that mirror old foreign-aid models — such as one-directional, donor-to-recipient program designs or short-term activities that have no mechanisms for continued engagement — or the funding of one-off gatherings with no lasting imprint. Those structures were built for another era. Instead, philanthropy should build sustained, cross-sector platforms that equip American leaders to work in ways that endure geopolitical turbulence and reinforce the steady, principled engagement that has long defined America.

Deborah Lehr is interim CEO of the Meridian International Center.

Philanthropy must increase its commitment to funding community organizing. This means funding organizations that bring people together to understand who is benefiting from their exploitation and exclusion. It also means supporting these same people in holding those who are harming them accountable. Community organizing is the proven engine for building a better future. It brings together broad coalitions of people and helps them have agency and power to shape their lives in solidarity with one another. Organizing seeds hope and helps communities leverage power to win tangible victories like affordable housing, participatory budgeting, immigrant rights and more. Community organizing is the bedrock of a vibrant multiracial democracy.

Foundations must stop using their endowments to subsidize harm. They must stop using the excuse of maximizing returns to justify fueling corporations and billionaires that poison our air, pollute our water, profit from surveillance and starve our communities of the public goods we all need to live a good life. Allowing endowments to harm people and our planet is a failure of board governance. The crises we face demand that we align our full financial weight with our values. Our duty is to fund a better world, not bankroll its destruction.

Carmen Rojas is president and CEO of the Marguerite Casey Foundation.

America’s philanthropic foundations and billionaire donors could transform society by uniting to give dollars and expertise that help all nonprofits — especially the most cash-strapped ones — leap forward in their use of technology. Today, most nonprofits can’t afford to spend more than 3% of their annual budgets on technology, while businesses spend about 6%. And with federal budget cuts hitting nonprofits of all kinds, that deficit is probably getting larger. The tech gap in resources is depriving society of solutions to the world’s biggest problems. If every foundation and person of means committed to helping nonprofit tech budgets reach parity with business, our society would be stronger.

With the net worth of America’s richest now at $52 trillion, they can and should keep supporting organizations that are closest to their hearts. But they could do more good by putting far more of their vast resources into the regions and organizations that are so often overlooked, such as rural spaces that are essentially philanthropy deserts. It’s easier for donors to say “yes” to the armies of outstanding fundraisers for colleges, museums, hospitals and other elite causes that seek funds for sparkling new buildings bearing donors’ names. America’s philanthropists, however, owe it to all of us to put more of their energy into ensuring their tax-deductible donations go to those who need the dollars — but don’t have the ability to ask for them.

Stacy Palmer is chief executive of the Chronicle of Philanthropy.

In a time when nonprofits are reeling from federal funding cuts and an extremely difficult context, I am not really interested in suggesting where people should give less — or buying into the idea that it’s a zero-sum game. My hope is that philanthropic donors, especially the wealthiest people and institutions in this country, will respond to the current moment by increasing their giving dramatically — whether their personal giving priorities align with mine or not. The beauty of American philanthropy, historically, has been its range. Donors can give to what President George H.W. Bush called “a brilliant diversity” of organizations “spread like stars, like a thousand points of light in a broad and peaceful sky.” Or, as Common Cause founder John Gardner said, “If you can’t find a nonprofit institution that you can honestly disrespect, then something has gone wrong with our pluralism.”

Put another way, it’s not for me (or anyone, including the current presidential administration) to tell people where to give and where not to give. We need more philanthropy to support the environment, to fight for justice for the marginalized, to support and promote arts and culture, to help the homeless and the hungry, and so much more.

We need all of it — and we need more of all of it.

Phil Buchanan is president of The Center for Effective Philanthropy and the author of “Giving Done Right: Effective Philanthropy and Making Every Dollar Count.”