Where tech, politics & giving meet: CEO Nicole Taylor considers Silicon Valley's busy intersection

Nicole Taylor has an insider's view of philanthropic trends from her seat as the president and CEO of the Silicon Valley Community Foundation. Located in Mountain View, California, the community foundation's donors gave out nearly $4.6 billion in 2023, a significant increase from the $2.6 billion granted the previous year.

That spike, Taylor said, was thanks to some large donors “who really doubled down big on some things that they cared about.”

She said it's hard to predict what will happen this year, “Are there going to be more wars? We have a huge election coming up. We fully expected donors to be active. Whether it’s going to be $4 billion again? Hard to say.”