Giving Compass' Take:

• Laura Callanan at Philanthropy News Digest argues that cultural institutions, such as museums, should be at the forefront of socially responsible investing. 

• Which future innovations will make donor dollars go further? What can we do as funders to support infrastructure for museums and art institutions?

• Here's a behind the scenes look at museum fundraising.

Museums and galleries all over the world have been grabbing headlines lately as a result of controversies over the source of funding from donors and trustees.

Artists and members of the public have objected to sponsorship from companies and individuals linked to the sale of opioids, tobacco, fossil fuels, private prisons, or the manufacture of tear gas. But the outcry overlooks a bigger opportunity for endowed cultural institutions to signal their values: how they invest.

The financial investments of four museums that have been criticized — the Metropolitan Museum of Art, the Museum of Modern Art, the Solomon R Guggenheim Museum, and the Whitney Museum of American Art — total more than $6 billion. Turning down a few million dollars in individual donations because of where the money comes from might feel good. But it ignores how these institutions invest the billions of dollars they already control.

Read the full article about museums and socially responsible investing by Laura Callanan at Philanthropy News Digest.