The Most Read Stories of 2021: Looking Back on a Year Filled with Challenges and Hope

In view of the inherent value of sharing news and analysis about the topics that are most important to us and to our community, the Michelson Philanthropies network published more than 230 articles in 2021, far more than in years past.

Michelson Philanthropies — including Michelson Found Animals Foundation, Michelson Medical Research Foundation, Michelson 20MM Foundation, Michelson Center for Public Policy, Michelson Institute for Intellectual Property, FirstGen Initiative — strive to make a positive impact in animal welfare, medical research, equity in education, immigration, and public policy.

As founder and co-chair Dr. Gary Michelson might say, the ultimate goal is to leave the world better than we found it, and to have had our being here make a difference.

The focus was on impact. Michelson Philanthropies worked to make emergency student aid more equitable, to expand educational access to the incarcerated, to bridge the Digital Divide, support young and innovative medical researchers, and to educate HBCU students about the world of intellectual property and copyright law.

Articles that highlight where our work has had a direct impact — such as congressional leaders citing our Pet-Inclusive Housing Initiative in a bill that reduces restrictions around pets in public housing, or California allocating $115 million to help community college students afford textbooks — were thus very popular among our readers this year.

Yet it’s no surprise when 70 percent of U.S. households own pets that stories featuring the Found Animals Foundation were the most engaging, especially content that provided expert knowledge on how to take better care of your best friend.

Below are the top 10 most read stories from each website publishing news and analysis on our websites. Reread your favorite pieces or read them for the first time.

Michelson Philanthropies

1. Michelson Found Animals Kicks Off the 2021 Saving Pets Challenge
   
2. A Conversation with Alya and Gary Michelson
   
3. Congress Members Cite MFA’s Pet-Inclusive Housing Initiative Report in Introducing the ‘Pets Belong with Families Act’
   
4. Let Them Be Heard: Telling the Stories of America’s Immigrant Women
   
5. Announcing New Staff Members: Michelson Philanthropies is Growing
   
6. Young and Diverse Teams of Researchers Produce More Impactful Science
   
7. To Vaccinate Our Economy, Boost Support for the NIH
   
8. New California Budget Allocates $115 Million to Support Students Cover Exorbitant Textbook Costs
   
9. Michelson Found Animals Announces New CEO
   
10. Career Skills Program Underway with Eight Immigrant Women Enrolled as Upwardly Global’s First All-Female Cohort
    

Michelson Found Animals Foundation

1. “Can My Dog Eat…” Vegetable Edition
   
2. Dangerous Pet Toxins Found in Everyday Household Cleaners
   
3. Dos and Don’ts of Visiting an Animal Shelter
   
4. 7 Ways to Reduce Your Carbon Pawprint
   
5. 6 Tips for Stopping Your Dog From Begging
   
6. Update Regarding Michelson Found Animals Adopt & Shop Culver City
   
7. Things to Think about When Looking For a Dog
   
8. Congress Members Cite MFA’s Pet-Inclusive Housing Initiative Report in Introducing the ‘Pets Belong with Families Act’
   
9. These Are the 7 Best Dog-Friendly Restaurants in the United States
   
10. Partnering with Homeboy Industries to Help Pets In Need

Michelson 20MM Foundation

1. Creating a Culture of Care for Parenting Students at California State University, Long Beach
   
2. A Tribute to Correctional Education Leader John Linton
   
3. Equity in Emergency Student Aid Is Within Reach in California
   
4. Michelson 20MM Joins California Department of Education to Identify Solutions to Close the Digital Divide
   
5. CSU Channel Islands to Create CAopenEd, an Alliance for OER Advocates
   
6. A Spotlight on Our Open Educational Resources Spark Grantees
   
7. Possibility Report: From Prison to College Degrees in California
   
8. Danny Murillo Joins Michelson 20MM Foundation as a Smart Justice Fellow
   
9. Get to Know Our Student Basic Needs Spark Grantees
   
10. MIT Faculty Share Learnings from Teaching Online in the Midst of a Pandemic

Michelson Medical Research Foundation

1. Mapping a Detailed COVID-19 Symptoms Timeline
   
2. Michelson Prizes Invites Applications for $150,000 Research Grants in Human Immunology
   
3. Nanofabrication Laboratory Opens at USC Michelson Center for Convergent Bioscience
   
4. Applications Now Open for the Michelson Philanthropies & Science Prize for Immunology
   
5. Healthy Planet, Healthy People: How Climate Change Impacts Human Immunology
   
6. 2020 Michelson Prizes Awarded to Young Scientists in Pursuit of Vaccine Breakthroughs
   
7. Researchers Develop New Way to Watch Pancreatic Cells Package Insulin
   
8. Climate Change is a Direct Threat to Human Health and Immunology
   
9. A Conversation with Dr. Laura Mackay: Science Podcast
   
10. Dr. Gary K. Michelson Proposes a National Institute of Cures
    

Michelson Center for Public Policy

1. A Transformational Investment in California’s Future
   
2. Governor Signs SB 416, Making California Nation’s Leader in Prioritizing Education Access
   
3. Buchanan, Luria, Mace, Sherrill, and Boyle Introduce FDA Modernization Act to End Mandatory Animal Testing, Lower Drug Prices
   
4. Michelson Center for Public Policy Joins in Support of Governor Newsom’s $15 Million Zero-Textbook-Cost Degree Proposal
   
5. Education Leaders, Students Praise Bold Action to Expand College Affordability and Lower Textbook Costs
   
6. Growing Coalition of Academic Leaders, Policy Experts, and Students Calls for Full Funding of Governor Newsom’s Proposal to Cut Textbook Costs
   
7. Attention College Students: California’s New Budget Can Help You with Food and Housing
   
8. Bipartisan Congressional Leaders Introduce FDA Modernization Act to Curb Use of Animals in Medical Testing
   
9. DeLauro, Mace Lead Bipartisan Effort to End Mink Factory Farms Threatening to Extend COVID-19 Pandemic
   
10. To Support Future Medical Advances, Revamp the Rules for Funding Research

Michelson Institute for Intellectual Property

1. Understanding the Balance of Traditional IP Rights and Open Access Initiatives
   
2. Is It Fair Use or Infringement?
   
3. IP for Social Media Influencers and Content Creators
   
4. What’s in a Copyright?
   
5. IP for Creatives Online: IP For Podcasters
   
6. What Can Be Patented?
   
7. How to Strengthen Your Patent
   
8. 5 IP Legal Agreements You Should Know About + Templates
   
9. What if Someone Infringes Your Copyright?
   
10. Fashion and Intellectual Property: Protecting Creative Works

GaryKMichelson.org

1. California Assembly Member Ash Kalra Introduces Bill to Make Textbooks More Affordable
   
2. Dr. Gary K. Michelson’s Statement on Appointment of Assemblymember Rob Bonta as California Attorney General
   
3. Michelson Center for Public Policy Joins in Support of Gov. Newsom’s $15 Million Zero-Textbook-Cost Degree Proposal
   
4. U.S. Lawmakers Introduce Kangaroo Protection Act to Blunt the World’s ‘Largest Wildlife Slaughter’
   
5. State Superintendent Tony Thurmond Announces $1 Million Competition to Spur Innovation that Closes the Digital Divide for California Students, Educators, and Families
   
6. Increasing NIH Funding is Critical to Advancing Medical Research
   
7. Senator Hueso Legislation Would Protect Incarcerated Students’ Access to Higher Education
   
8. Alya and Gary Michelson Attend City Hall’s College Behind Bars Event
   
9. A Transformational Investment in California’s Future
   
10. Gary Michelson Delivers Intellectual Property Keynote Speech

AlyaMichelson.org

1. Career Skills Program Underway with Eight Immigrant Women Enrolled as Upwardly Global’s First All-Female Cohort
   
2. Why I Care About the African Rainforest—And Why You Should Too
   
3. Nurturing Success Stories for Immigrant and Refugee Women
   
4. Upwardly Global Gala Celebrates the Contributions of Immigrants and Refugees
   
5. A Conversation with Alya and Gary Michelson
   
6. Alya Michelson Honors Simone Friedman with the Leadership in Animal Welfare Award
   
7. Let Them Be Heard: Telling the Stories of America’s Immigrant Women
   
8. Alya Michelson Launches ‘A Beautiful Journey,’ a New Podcast About Immigrant Women
   
9. Supporting a Generation of Innovative Female Founders in Pet Care
   
10. Alya Michelson Discusses Uplifting the Voices of Immigrant Women on SullivanSays Podcast

 

Michelson 20MM is a private, nonprofit foundation seeking to accelerate progress towards a more just world through grantmaking, operating programs, and impact investing. Co-chaired and funded by Alya and Gary Michelson, Michelson 20MM is part of the Michelson Philanthropies network of foundations.

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