Helen Flannery

Americans are their most charitable at year’s end. But even on Giving Tuesday, billionaire donors crowd out the impact of small-dollar gifts.

Barre Seid’s record-breaking $1.6 billion donation to the Marble Freedom Trust boosts right-wing advocacy efforts. This kind of dark money giving allows multi-millionaires to buy influence and set the public agenda — avoiding taxes in the process.

Rising like monsters from the deep, donor-advised funds (DAFs) have finally caught up with foundations as the wealthy donor’s charitable warehousing vehicle of choice — and are poised to eclipse them.

As inequality has grown in the U.S., the nation’s charitable system is in danger of becoming a taxpayer-subsidized platform of private power for the ultra-wealthy. This poses risks to the independent nonprofit sector and our society as a whole. It's time for reform — and we have some ideas.