Achieving Results
Adam Meyerson, president of The Philanthropy Roundtable, comments on the new NCRP initiative
On June 8, the National Center for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP) introduced a new project, Philanthropy’s Promise, an initiative to encourage grantmakers to voluntarily “allocate at least 50 percent of their grant dollars to address the unique needs of the poor, elderly, disabled and other underserved populations, and at least 25 percent towards supporting advocacy, community organizing and civic engagement to address the root causes of social problems.” This initiative channels at least some of the criteria outlined by NCRP in its 2009 Criteria for Philanthropy at Its Best: Benchmarks to Assess and Enhance Grantmaker Impact.
After reviewing NCRP’s latest initiative, Roundtable president Adam Meyerson commented:
The Philanthropy Roundtable believes that voluntary initiatives such as “Philanthropy’s Promise” are consistent with a free society under two conditions. First, it is important that the initiatives remain truly voluntary, without the threat of coercion from regulators, legislators, community activists, and/or mandatory accreditation systems. Second, it is important that donors and foundations remain free to give to the many worthy charitable objectives that are not included in the NCRP “promise.” Activist groups should be free to criticize donors’ choices, and to seek to push philanthropic giving in a different direction, so long as they defend and respect the freedom of donors to make their own charitable decisions.
New op-ed raises debate about donor intent and private foundation money
Recently Peter Wood, president of the National Association of Scholars, posted an op-ed in the Chronicle of Higher Education in defense of donor intent and philanthropic freedom - what we believe is the right of donors and foundations to give to the issues, causes and organizations they value in the manner they choose, consistent with the law. He highlighted recent efforts to curtain this freedom by some activist groups including AB 624.
He notes: “American higher education depends profoundly on philanthropy, and whatever threatens philanthropy threatens American higher education… [t]here is actually a more serious threat that was much in the news… the effort to force foundations to “greenline” their philanthropy.”
The Greenlining Institute responded yesterday with an op-ed arguing among other issues for greater foundation transparency and diversity.
Peter Wood continued the debate by responding to Greenlining’s comments.
We’ll continue to follow this debate and keep your posted.
For the full debate visit:
11/17 Generosity, Trussed - by Peter Wood, National Association of Scholars
12/7 The Greenlining Institute Responds to Peter Wood - by Orson Aguilar and Bruce Mirken, Greenlining Institute
12/7 Who Owns Philanthropy? - by Peter Wood, National Association of Scholars
The Washington Legal Foundation just published its Summer 2010 edition of Conversations With…
Conversations With… The Honorable Dick Thornburgh, Dr. Larry P. Arnn, Heather R. Higgins, and Adam Meyerson
This edition is dedicated to threats to philanthropic freedom and features Former Attorney General of the United States and Pennsylvania Governor Dick Thornburgh leading a discussion with Dr. Larry P. Arnn, President of Hillsdale College; Heather R. Higgins, President and Director of The Randolph Foundation; and Adam Meyerson, President of The Philanthropy Roundtable. The three reflect on the American tradition of philanthropy and the growing movement to impose further government regulation on the philanthropic world.
Further Reading
Chicago-Kent Law Review
The newly released article Respecting Foundation and Charity Autonomy: How Public is Private Philanthropy? in the Chicago Kent Law Review, Number 85, Volume 2 reexamines the “public money” argument. It was published as one of several articles included in the “Symposium on the Law of Philanthropy in the Twenty-First Century”.
Continue reading...
Adam Meyerson, president of The Philanthropy Roundtable, recently delivered a speech entitled “The Generosity of America” as part of a lecture series sponsored by Hillsdale College’s Allan P. Kirby, Jr. Center for Constitutional Studies and Citizenship.
Adam notes “Private charitable giving is at the heart and soul of public discourse in our democracy. It makes possible our great think tanks, whether left, right or center. Name a great issue of public debate today: climate change, the role of government in health care, school choice, stem cell research, same-sex marriage. On all these issues, private philanthropy enriches debate by enabling organizations with diverse viewpoints to articulate and spread their message.”
He cautions us though, warning “this freedom to give is now under serious threat… three kinds of proposals coming from Capitol Hill, the IRS, state governments, and sometimes from the charitable sector itself, that should be of concern to all Americans.”
The full article is available here.
James Madison Institute examines the impact of advocacy groups on philanthropic giving
A recent policy brief from the James Madison Institute raises the antennas of Floridian donors to the tactics of advocacy groups that seek to redirect private giving to their specified causes.
Excerpt:“Surely donors deserve the right to choose where their money goes. After all, most gifts represent the bounty from the fruits of their labor — what’s left after life’s necessities have been purchased, payrolls have been met, or federal, state and local taxes have been paid.
Granted, some choices may seem eccentric. Yet here in Florida there also are heart-warming examples of how personal experiences ignited a passion for a cause. Wendy’s founder Dave Thomas, adopted as a child, gave much of his wealth to his foundation to support adoption and foster care. When one of Miami Dolphins quarterback Dan Marino’s sons was diagnosed with autism, Marino started a foundation to support autism research. There are countless examples of such generosity by businesses, foundations and individuals across the country.”
To view the full policy brief and a related article select the links below.
Further Reading
ACR responds to recent Wall Street Journal article on philanthropy
According to a recently published article “What’s Wrong with Charitable Giving-And How to Fix It,” (Philanthropy - Wall Street Journal, November 9), Pablo Eisenberg claims that “[m]uch of current philanthropic giving, by foundations and individuals, neither meets the needs of our charitable organizations nor addresses some of our most urgent public needs.”
This blanket statement is not only incorrect, but it also undermines and diminishes the dedicated, altruistic work of charitable organizations (which continues in the face of this challenging economy), as well as the generosity of the millions of Americans who give to charity every day.
Download the full response below.
Further Reading
Date: November 4, 2009
Location: Asheville, North Carolina
Sue Santa spoke about nonprofit messaging. Adam Meyerson was also present.
A new report dismisses arguments to control philanthropy by government
Suzanne Garment (editor of The Philanthropy Roundtable’s recent monograph How Public is Private Philanthropy?) has joined with Leslie Lenkowsky (Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University) to take on arguments for greater government control of philanthropy in a newly released working paper of the Washington Legal Foundation.
Continue reading...
Further Reading
John Tyler, Steve Johnson, and William Dietel continue the conversation
When The Philanthropy Roundtable published its recent monograph How Public is Private Philanthropy? it touched off a heated debate.
The conversation continues as John Tyler, co-author of the monograph, challenges the legal basis for proposals from both government and charitable groups to impose legal limits on the grantmaking and governance within foundations. While others in the philanthropic community weigh in with the common rebuttal that the real issue is how effective philanthropy is.
For the full conversation please read below.
Further Reading
