At their core, the most important themes in life are universal. Across cultures and continents, humans share the same hopes: lives filled with love, safe communities, access to quality healthcare and education, and opportunities to explore their passions. The Make It Better Foundation and Better Magazine exist to make it easier for our audience to […]
“I felt misunderstood for so much of my life,” says Monique*, reflecting on years of therapy before receiving an autism diagnosis as an adult. She was labeled lazy by teachers, and what seemed easy for peers felt difficult for her. Monique felt she had to mask her differences to fit in. It was exhausting. Autism […]
The tension in the room was palpable. Board members dug in on opposing positions. A staff leader threatened to resign. The group’s leader called for a timeout before a vote to buy time. The scene was the 2022 board meeting of the India Philanthropy Alliance. The board members were debating a collective fundraising effort called […]
There is a question that haunts every fundraiser, every program officer, every grant writer who has ever stared at a blank page: How do you make someone feel the weight of a life changed? We try. We craft annual reports with glossy photographs. We write impact summaries with metrics. We build infographics that turn human […]
For more than 50 years, curiosity has shaped the career of David Byrne — the Talking Heads frontman and an Academy, Grammy, and Tony Award–winning artist who has long used his art to explore how we perceive and make sense of the world. Across stages and mediums — from Coachella to Broadway to immersive theater […]
One of the world’s leading ocean conservationists and award-winning nature photographers, Paul Nicklen has spent more than three decades documenting both the beauty of the natural world and the accelerating impact of climate change. Trained as a marine biologist and shaped by decades of fieldwork, Nicklen — a National Geographic contributor for more than 20 […]
In Chicago’s Little Village — often called the “Mexico of the Midwest” for its vibrant Mexican-American culture — a neighborhood school was preparing to host a community event connected to The House on Mango Street, Sandra Cisneros’ iconic coming-of-age story about growing up between cultures on Chicago’s West Side. The event was meant to be […]
This month, the Alzheimer’s Association — a 2026 Philanthropy Award winner — raised a record-breaking $640,000 with support from Make It Better! The Power of Purple: A Reason to Hope Luncheon took place in Chicago earlier this month, raising funds for Alzheimer’s and dementia care, support, and research. Make It Better staff were honored to […]
Make It Better — that’s our natural instinct. We fill our lives with people, work, and opportunities that we love, then we want to pay those blessings forward. And hopefully help create a better world for them, and others, too. When we founded Make It Better 20 years ago, honoring our planetary home and protecting […]
I remember the day I looked in the mirror and didn’t recognize the woman staring back at me. My stomach churned, my hands shook, and the circles under my eyes could no longer be covered with makeup. That was the defining moment I chose to rescue myself from my abuser, despite the privilege that convinced […]
