Bill Clinton opened the 2026 Clinton Global Initiative conference Tuesday in New York with a blunt message for the political, business and philanthropic leaders gathered before him: step into the void left by governments pulling back from foreign assistance. The former president told attendees that philanthropy and other sectors will have to find new ideas and new resources to protect the progress already made on longstanding global problems.
Clinton Presses the Case for Urgency
Clinton's remarks, delivered as the United States and other nations have cut foreign assistance, framed the moment as one where cooperation cannot be sacrificed for short-term wins, according to usnews.com. He challenged President Donald Trump and his administration directly, pushing back on the notion that cooperation is unimportant compared with winning in the short term. The Clinton Global Initiative has convened political, business and philanthropic leaders for more than two decades, and this year's gathering leaned heavily on new funding structures meant to replace shrinking government support.
The tone of urgency echoed beyond Clinton's own remarks. As abcnews.com reported from the conference, the broader message to funders was stark: this is a moment to give out money, lots of it, right now.
A New $100 Million Venture Fund for Breast Cancer Research
Among the announcements unveiled Tuesday was BCRF Ventures, described by the same usnews.com report as the Breast Cancer Research Foundation's first venture philanthropy fund and a $100 million initiative. Donna McKay, president and CEO of the Breast Cancer Research Foundation, said the new fund will try to fast-track advances and get them to patients quickly. Philanthropists Karen and Rob Hale donated $11 million to help launch the fund and support its early investments, though the fund's own social media post described that gift as part of $23 million in seed donations aimed at raising and deploying $100 million over five years.
BCRF Ventures plans to recycle earnings from its successful supported companies into funding for additional companies, the outlet's report noted, and the fund will not replace the foundation's traditional grants to breast cancer research scientists. That traditional grantmaking was itself expanded in 2025, the report said, as the foundation responded to federal funding cuts to medical research.
Abrams Unveils Democracy-Focused Funds
Stacey Abrams, a former Georgia state representative who now leads the 10 Steps Campaign nonprofit, announced a coalition of democracy nonprofits banding together to launch two new vehicles: the Democracy Index Fund and the Democracy Hedge Fund. Per usnews.com's account of the conference, the Democracy Index Fund will pool resources to support pro-democracy organizations, while the Democracy Hedge Fund is designed to earn revenue while also providing that support. Abrams told the gathering that authoritarians have a playbook and a budget, and that pro-democracy groups need a budget of their own.
Heather Gerken, president of the Ford Foundation, added her own call to action, encouraging attendees to envision a new democracy rather than simply defend the old one. She said the United States needs to dream a new democracy into existence, a framing that dovetailed with Abrams's push for dedicated funding mechanisms built to outlast any single political cycle.
A Foundation Weighs the Limits of Giving Rules
Carmen Rojas, president and CEO of the Marguerite Casey Foundation, urged donors and foundations to give substantial funds immediately rather than wait, arguing that inaction poses a greater risk than deploying resources communities already need. Her foundation has described a commitment to give away at least $500 million over the next decade, a step it says would increase its grantmaking by 50%, according to caseygrants.org. Separately, usnews.com's conference reporting characterized the same commitment as a plan to increase annual donations to at least $500 million over the next decade, a discrepancy the available reporting does not resolve.
Figures on the foundation's recent giving also diverge depending on the source. The usnews.com report said the foundation dipped into its endowment in 2025 to distribute $135 million, while philanthropy.com reported that the foundation quadrupled its grantmaking in 2025 to $130 million. Rojas also wants foundations to reconsider the annual 5% giving requirement tied to maintaining tax-exempt status, describing it as a floor rather than a ceiling.
Clinton's opening remarks and the flurry of new funding vehicles announced alongside them, as reported by News4JAX, underscore a broader shift among philanthropic leaders toward structures meant to generate revenue and stretch scarce resources further, rather than relying solely on traditional grants.
