Since Rand Skolnick died from cancer in 2008, Terrence Meck has been using the funds his partner left to give away $1m a year, with half going to lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender (LGBT) youth programmes and the rest to health initiatives.
For Meck, this honours the man he loved. However, his strategy also reflects a broader trend among gay philanthropists - their giving increasingly extends beyond LGBT causes.
For Meck, who makes grants through the Palette...

In a laboratory game to assess how income levels affect charitable giving, participants are handed $10 in dollar bills and told that, if they like, they can put some in an envelope and give them to an anonymous partner. Psychologist Paul Piff has found that people making $150,000 or more a year give on average $2-$3, while lower earners give $6-$7.
“That’s an incredible difference,” says Piff, a social psychologist at the University of California,...