Giving Compass' Take:

• Edgar Villanueva says the philanthropy sector mirrors the college cheating scandal: Funders often fail to see how their own personal behavior contributes to injustice and instead become gatekeepers of wealth that was accumulated off the backs of the very people they are trying to help. 

• How are you evaluating your philanthropy based on these critiques of the sector? 

• Learn why the way we do philanthropy is deeply flawed.

You would be hard-pressed to pick up a newspaper, scroll through an online media platform, or check social media without being bombarded with stories on the U.S. college admissions scandal. It’s been fodder for daytime and late-night television, grist for comedic satire, and a source of anger and frustration.

For millions of students who have gone out of their way to prove, often to a skeptical and disbelieving audience, that they earned their spot on campus, the scandal is a hard slap in the face. While some buy their way into college, others—especially students of color—have paid in blood, sweat, and tears.

Many people are wondering how those with so much would work so hard to game a system to which they were already advantaged. Yet we see this phenomenon playing out every day in many sectors, including the one in which I work—philanthropy.

Read the full article about how philanthropy mirrors the college cheating scandal by Edgar Villanueva at Skoll.