Bella DeVaan is the Program Associate for Inequality.org and a member of its Charity Reform Initiative. She has worked with the Inequality.org team since she was a Next Leader intern in the summer of 2021. Previously, DeVaan wrote and researched policy for labor and disability justice advocate Rebecca Lamorte’s campaign for New York City Council. She also co-founded the New Deal San Juan Islands public policy project and interned with tenant organizers and arts educators.

DeVaan graduated cum laude with a B.A. in American Studies from Columbia University, where she studied the legislative history of philanthropy reform and taught high school students through Columbia’s Freedom and Citizenship program. She currently resides in Brooklyn.

Latest

While the Rich Sit On Massive Nest Eggs, Young People Struggle to Save for Retirement

Young workers already facing high rents and student debt will pay the biggest price for Social Security cuts. We can’t sit on the sidelines.

Until the River Runs Dry

Every year, wealthy donors divert more money into intermediaries, drying up the river of donations meant for working charities. We can change that.

Report Reveals Top CEOs Dodge Taxes on Nearly $9 Billion in Retirement Funds

Some executives can expect to receive monthly retirement checks larger than their workers’ median annual pay.

In New York, the Wrong Workers Get the Biggest Pay Bumps

Last year’s Wall Street bonus pool was large enough to raise New York City’s minimum wage to $21.25 — with $24 billion left over.

A Self-Tax for the Common Good

Taxpayers are subsidizing donors who retain control of their wealth instead of sharing it through philanthropy.

New Yorkers Care About Care. The State Budget Should, Too.

Workers, clients, and advocates rallied in Albany to secure living wages for their state’s hardworking and underpaid home care workers. Will the governor listen?

A Big Year for the Charity Reform Movement

Our 2022 findings, publications, conversations, and political prospects made it clearer than ever that we need meaningful charity reform – and that a strong majority agrees.

Notes on a Victory for D.C. Domestic Workers

Domestic workers, almost all of whom are women and mostly women of color, are explicitly left out by law in most places in the country. That changes now.

‘Tis Always the Season for Billionaire Philanthropy

Americans are their most charitable at year’s end. But even on Giving Tuesday, billionaire donors crowd out the impact of small-dollar gifts.

Swifties, Welcome to the Anti-Monopoly Movement

Taylor Swift fans had their time wasted and pockets emptied by Ticketmaster. Now they’re calling to break up the company’s live events monopoly – and joining the movement to crack down on monopolies, period.

Inequality-Fighting Ballot Initiatives Win Big

Voters approved proposals to tax the rich, build worker power, and make housing and education more affordable.

Want More Teachers? Start Valuing Education

Too many lawmakers are happy to dole out subsidies for the rich and corporations while resisting pay increases for educators.

A Pastor Marches for A Moral, Equitable Economy for All

The Poor People’s Campaign marched on Washington to demand that politicians legislate to protect the fundamental rights of 140 million poor and low-wealth people in America. Here’s why a pastor from New York joined them.

Nurses are Standing Up to Profiteers and Demanding Universal Healthcare

The first-ever Senate hearing on Medicare for All examined how our profit-driven healthcare system endangers patients and betrays nurses.

The Gilded Glamour Met Gala Was a Fantasia of Inequality

Our second Gilded Age isn’t as enchanting as Condé Nast and celebrity spectacle make it seem – but a red carpet parade while event workers struggle for dignified treatment epitomizes the era.

A Historic Deal for Union Doormen

After servicing New York City’s wealthiest throughout the pandemic, 32,000 residential workers refused to accept a regressive new contract.

Stopping Traffic to Fund Excluded Workers

New York’s essential workers have been excluded from relief and benefits. The Fund Excluded Workers Coalition is fighting to change that.

For New York Home Care Workers, Fair Pay Is Possible

Two years into the COVID-19 pandemic, New York has an opportunity to transform its care economy by investing in workers.

Columbia’s Student Workers Fight for a Fair Contract

Student workers keep Columbia University running, yet many struggle to make ends meet in one of the most expensive cities in the country.

The Civilian Climate Corps Could Be Transformative. Will Democrats Meet the Moment?

The climate jobs program in the budget reconciliation deal should build on FDR’s initiative in ways that advance equity for all.