the Giving Review

A regular curation.

The funders and nonprofits reshaping American life.

The Juicero of Big Philanthropy.

A new day.

Forthcoming in December.

“Using tax privileges, matching grants, special restrictions, and unique legal devices, the modern state gives the practice of philanthropy its particular strength and texture,” according to Theodore M. Lechterman. “Which if any of these regulatory strategies can be justified requires careful analysis and evaluation.”

A selection of recent reviews.

Philanthropy is uniquely unsuited for involvement in American politics. Indeed, what it considers its political strengths turn out to be serious liabilities. Nothing demonstrates this better than its role in the 2024 presidential election.

Lose points, win matches.

“[W]hy shouldn’t tax be collected before the money is given away?”

And recalling William E. Simon.

A reminder of a previous willingness to offer harsh conservative criticism of Big Philanthropy, and of that which gave rise to the critique.

A disagreement about how to spend grant money offers poignant lessons on the perils of investing in public institutions.

Donors privileged over the democratic electorate.

The Washington, D.C., attorney and writer talks to Michael E. Hartmann about natural and constitutional rights in general; those conditions that can or could legally attach to governmental benefits, including tax-exemption, in particular; and first principles and the common good.

The Washington, D.C., attorney and writer talks to Michael E. Hartmann about “the myth of Citizens United,” its historically anachronistic basis, and its ramifications in the context of philanthropy and the nonprofit sector.

IJ bears his mark in particular, of course, as does conservative public-interest law in general.

In discussion with Charity Reform Initiative associate director Bella DeVaan and Giving Review co-editor Michael E. Hartmann, the editor and journalist talks about donor-advised funds and the challenges of, and prospects for, potential reform of the laws and regulations structuring the nonprofit sector more generally.

In discussion with Charity Reform Initiative associate director Bella DeVaan and Giving Review co-editor Michael E. Hartmann, the editor and journalist talks about his important recent article on “The Left’s Fragile Foundations;” philanthropy and politics in general, including funding of voter-registration projects in particular; and liberal and conservative grantmaking, including in the wake of populism’s ascendance.

The editor of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute journal talks to Michael E. Hartmann about establishment and conservative philanthropy, including in the context of populism’s ascendance.

The editor of the Intercollegiate Studies Institute journal talks to Michael E. Hartmann about recent developments in, the current states of, and potential future directions for conservatism and philanthropy, including conservative philanthropy in particular.

The tension between strategic philanthropy and Erlebnis is not resolved by our typical, chirpy rejoinder “Why can’t we just do both?”—which always evokes satisfied nods at conferences where these matters are discussed.

Lots of data and analysis about giving and volunteering.

Tevi Troy’s newest book tells stories about the relationships between presidents and corporate titans who became charitable givers—prominently including interesting and entertaining ones about Theodore Roosevelt and John D. Rockefeller, Sr., essentially a founder of establishment philanthropy in America.

A regular curation.

If others are not going to devote funding to operationalize or weaponize the conservative vision, then the 85 Fund needs to weight its support much more heavily in that direction and much less in the direction of research, policy, and general education.

Handbooks and lectures rarely result in on-ramps to the “success sequence.”

The Substack writer talks to Michael E. Hartmann and Daniel P. Schmidt about the concept of a parallel polis to stand against progressive managerialism, whether such polei are political, whether there might already be one or the beginning of one in America, and how conservative philanthropy could and should support one.

The Substack writer talks to Michael E. Hartmann and Daniel P. Schmidt about his newsletter, Gnosticism, progressive managerialism, the Ford Foundation, philanthropy’s role in the ideological revolution, and what could perhaps be done about it.

In this case, to the MacArthur Foundation’s failed, and democratically rejected, vision of criminal-justice reform.

The fifth in a series of five republished articles to mark our fifth anniversary.

The consulting-firm founder talks to Michael E. Hartmann more about the benefits and challenges of rural grantmaking, including the growing role of intermediaries and the proper, localist sense of place in it.

The consulting-firm founder talks to Michael E. Hartmann about rural philanthropy in America—its size and scope, its nature, and the benefits of and challenges to doing it well.

Recent legislation meant to promote transparency in giving by foreign philanthropists will boost the charitable world’s credibility.

The tax-policy expert talks to Michael E. Hartmann about the broad way in which tax neutrality should be applied to charitable nonprofits’ business income, as well as the benefits to economic growth of doing so.

The tax-policy expert talks to Michael E. Hartmann about reigning in America’s $3.3 trillion tax-exempt economy by narrowing the tax code’s definition of “public charity” and subjecting supposedly charitable nonprofitdom to tax neutrality.

A regular curation.

The fourth in a series of five republished articles to mark our fifth anniversary.

A mid-year collection of interesting and insightful passages.

The third in a series of five republished articles to mark our fifth anniversary.

Nobody asked, but …

Wondering why the shifts, and whether there might be fuller explanations of the reasoning behind them.

A call for more scrutiny and consideration of the role of elite grantmaking institutions and what they’re doing in, and to, America.

A mid-year collection of interesting and insightful thinking about grantmaking and giving.

“This will not be the first movement in human history to flourish by incorporating the wisdom of unorthodox groups hitherto exiled to the margins of respectable society. … [I]t’s time for a conservative parallel polis. But the outline of that polis is already there, to be discovered and nurtured, not created. It’s up to us to provide it the attention and resources that it deserves.”

In the wake of Warren Buffett’s announcement that he will create huge new charitable trust upon his death, some historical context.

The second in a series of five republished articles to mark our fifth anniversary.

Projects to address social problems do better when centered on an individual’s and community’s unique characteristics.

The first in a series of five republished articles to mark our fifth anniversary.

To mark our fifth anniversary, a selection of five of our favorite articles.

Seeming to despair of creating anything of lasting value from philanthropy understood as a free-standing activity—and shifting to what turns out to be little more than another Democratic Party get-out-the vote effort, of the sort already very much in evidence in today’s political philanthropy.

N. S. Lyons will also be on same “Alternative Political Structures” panel. “Parallel polis” boldly urged by Lyons may already exist in latent form, Schambra has written.

They should not be seen as a source of untoward profit, but as value for money.

Protest as “charity.”

The polymath and Substack writer talks to Michael E. Hartmann about libertarian and progressive views of the roles of government, for-profit business, and nonprofit charity.

The polymath and Substack writer talks to Michael E. Hartmann about his government service, his Substack page, the role nonprofits should and actually do play in America, and generally outlines potential policy reforms related to nonprofits.

A regular curation.

Remembering, and appreciating, his willingness to challenge traditional authority to help the poor and middle class.

This time, however qualified, in Mehrsa Baradaran’s new progressive critique of neoliberalism.

Daniel Schlozman’s and Sam Rosenfeld’s new book tells how wealthy givers, on both the left and the right, have played a part in weakening political parties, and thus also politics and policymaking, in America.

Good character and healthy habits are best transmitted through trusting human relationships. The strength of those relationships is difficult to quantify, but research that ignores them can only produce inconclusive evidence.

A regular curation.

In the framework of the “parallel polis” for which N. S. Lyons called at the National Conservatism conference in Brussels, there already exists a latent one in America’s central-city neighborhoods.

If successful, the suit would further politicize the charitable world, to its great detriment.

On the basis of his long experience in the sector, the advisor, observer, and commentator talks to Michael E. Hartmann about those against DAF reform, some of the different kinds of nonprofit board members, different types of grantmaking strategies and tactics, and the underappreciated value of staffs at nonprofits.

On the basis of his long experience in the sector, the advisor, observer, and commentator talks to Michael E. Hartmann about how the nature of charitable giving has changed and how those changes affect fundraising challenges, including because of DAFs.

Observations on The Chronicle of Philanthropy’s “The Commons” debate about whether philanthropy can bring America together.

The former Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones executive, onetime top Rockefeller Foundation official, former ProPublica president, and current Substack writer and consultant talks to Michael E. Hartmann more about the relationship between funding and content in nonprofit and for-profit journalism, groupthink and diversity in the news business overall, and some specific challenges facing both foundation funders and management teams of nonprofit news organizations.

The former Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones executive, onetime top Rockefeller Foundation official, former ProPublica president, and current Substack writer and consultant talks to Michael E. Hartmann about the changing natures of philanthropy and journalism since he began his career—including the necessary lines in journalism between those funding it and those producing it, in both the for-profit and nonprofit contexts.

Nonprofits no longer have the influence they once did to bridge divides.

Americans shouldn’t look to nondemocratic, publicly unaccountable foundations to save democracy.

Progressivism and donor-advised funds in local charity.

With whom, though, and for what? In Leah Hunt-Hendrix’s and Astra Taylor’s new book, unfortunately, it seems as if meaningful, bottom-up anti-centralism might be too constrained by their modifying adjective.

“It’s past time,” Vance said, to end allowing “these deals to escape tax liability.” Whitehouse said we should “get our government out of the business of subsidizing” them.

Without checks and balances, scrutinizing and challenging foundation leaders’ million-dollar paychecks is nearly impossible.

A regular curation.

Tim Schwab’s book on Gates is an education, and an opportunity to examine certain questions.

If race-based grant contracts violate §1981, practical legal advice for grantors and grantees alike would include options ranging from linguistically just avoiding any reference to race in grant agreements to avoiding grant contracts altogether.

The former White House official and Philanthropy Roundtable vice president talks to Michael E. Hartmann and Daniel P. Schmidt about the Tappan brothers’ belief in the primary role of individual human beings to do what’s right and get things done, as well as how today’s alternative faith in the promise of technology is a serious challenge for any return to that primacy of people.

The former White House official and Philanthropy Roundtable vice president talks to Michael E. Hartmann and Daniel P. Schmidt about his new novel on the underappreciated history of the Tappan brothers and the ways in which they changed American culture, including through their philanthropy.

According to an Ipsos poll commissioned by Inequality.org in cooperation with The Giving Review, most Americans are unaware of details about philanthropy. When presented with specific statements describing policy concepts and ideas, though, many reform ideas are supported by a solid majority, both on the left and right.

Jeffrey E. Paul’s new book about the authoritarian strain in American academia—including where it came from and what its effects have been, in politics and policy—uses an easily understood, nautical analogy to describe an emerging oligarchy, its financiers, and their role.

Democratic self-governance is a rare and precious thing, all too readily surrendered by citizens to professional experts who are all too happy to take charge.

Labor journalist Hamilton Nolan’s new book on “the struggle for the soul of labor” takes progressive philanthropy to task for not prioritizing the promotion of America’s labor movement and makes an urgent plea for it to do more, and with more patience.

Looking to glean what the rise of DAFs means for our troubled voluntary sector and civil society in general.

The Instapundit founder and Substack writer talks to Michael E. Hartmann about the folly of tax-incentivized support of America’s ruling-class elites, including its philanthropic ones, and what to consider doing about it.

The Instapundit founder and Substack writer talks to Michael E. Hartmann about the tax incentivizations given to the nonprofit sector and whether they’re really effecting their original policy purpose, and what to consider doing about it.

A regular curation.

While you and millions like you work hard, save, take risks, invest, and create opportunities, the elitist knowledge factories we count on to turn out productive, well-trained workers and managers have been transformed into indoctrination centers.

And in the A’s, 16 more Q’s.

Progressivism “certainly came to dominate the first modern foundations, the universities, journalism, and most other institutions of American intellectual life. But … it nonetheless failed in its effort to change entirely the way everyday American political life plays itself out.”

Eleven colleges with a combined total of $270 billion; six foundations totaling $163 billion.

This year’s election demands greater scrutiny of nonprofits involved in political activities.

ICYMI.

A regular curation.

The Ohio University professor emeritus talks to Michael E. Hartmann about whether tax-incentivization is a subsidy, the taxation of endowments in higher education, Milton Friedman’s 2003 e-mail to him about negative externalities in higher ed, whether there might also be negative externalities in philanthropy, and the taxation of endowments in philanthropy, as well as a little about the Ohio Bobcats’ football team.

The Ohio University professor emeritus talks to Michael E. Hartmann about the academic study of economics overall and applies a basic, general economic concept or two in the context of charitable giving to higher education.

The author of a recent Urban institute report comments on the “1 Q: 5 A’s” set of reactions to it.

Where will we speak candidly?

Fundamental questions.

In large part because of him—his warmth, his wit, his wisdom—a great group that got along and, we think, did some good.

Conversation reviews year in philanthropy.

An end-of-year collection of interesting and insightful thinking about grantmaking and giving.

An end-of-year collection of interesting and insightful passages.

The College Endowment Accountability Act, according to Sen. J. D. Vance, responds to “a problem, borne of unfairness and of mass subsidy from the American taxpayer, that has now metastasized into one of the most-corrupt and one of the most politically active and politically hostile organizations in the United States of America, and that is elite colleges.”

Subcommittee on Oversight members and hearing witnesses mull some potential reforms.

Subcommittee on Oversight to hear from legal experts and researchers.

A regular curation.

Anonymous donations to controversial anti-Israel groups shine a spotlight on the urgent need for donor-advised fund reform. Will this finally motivate Congress to pass much-needed legislation?

The American Council of Trustees and Alumni’s president and vice president talk to Michael E. Hartmann more about the need for and nature of higher-ed reform in the wake of the October 7 Hamas attack and its aftermath—including on-campus pro-Hamas activities, their tolerance if not encouragement by administrators, and the “donor revolt” against all of it.

The American Council of Trustees and Alumni’s president and vice president talk to Michael E. Hartmann about philanthropic support of higher education and efforts to reform it—before and after October 7.

Is there a “Charity, Inc.” and if so, what could perhaps be done about it?

Trustees need to keep in mind that long success at following orders does not always equate to success at giving them.

Quick reactions to the new report from Ben Soskis on two schools of thought about philanthropy—whether a diversity of charitable causes supported by donors is itself a good thing or, alternatively, some causes are more worthy of support than others.

The American Institute for Economic Research senior research fellow talks with Michael E. Hartmann about the perverse incentives of the tax system on nonprofits, what hypothetically would happen to the third sector absent tax-incentivization, whether progressive Big Philanthropy might do damage to it along with Big Government, and encouraging more bottom-up experimentation in addressing social ills.

The American Institute for Economic Research senior research fellow talks with Michael E. Hartmann about his research, why Tocquevillian voluntary association became such a beneficial part of America’s social contract, the relationship between volunteerism and governmental and individual sovereignty, and the detrimental effect that enlarged government and its taxation had on voluntariness.

Time and money. The bottom and the top.

Building a better future for young Black men and women just can’t be done in a research institute, no matter how well-funded. It is going to happen in classrooms, in living rooms, in churches, and on sidewalks.

Rep. David Schweikert: there are continuing Congressional “conversations on charitable giving … and how we make sure it’s doing good in the world and not ultimately financing evil.”

Forthcoming book describes strategies oligarchs use to fuse wealth and power, including philanthropy.

Remembering an active, faithful Milwaukee citizen.

And argues for charity reform.

Advice for the House Ways and Means Committee as it convenes a hearing this afternoon investigating the nexus between antisemitism, tax-exempt universities, and terror financing.

And what it is.

A regular curation.

Leading nonprofit associations have rejected efforts to expand the rules governing donor privacy. Their concern is misplaced, and the field’s legitimacy is at stake.

Newly including philanthropic support for activities leading up to and in the wake of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel.

The international-relations scholar talks with Michael E. Hartmann about those who fund the anti-Israel NGOs his organization monitors, most prominently including the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and how private givers and public policymakers could and should consider reacting to the October 7 attack and its aftermath.

The international-relations scholar talks with Michael E. Hartmann about anti-Israel non-governmental organizations’ political power, their fundraising skill, and their culpability for the horrific October 7 attack.

Quick reactions to the recent, high-profile withdrawals of major philanthropic support of certain higher-education institutions for their tolerance, if not actual outright promotion, of pro-Hamas sentiment and activities.

Lauren Lassabe Shepherd’s new book on the “campus wars” can credit philanthropically supported conservative groups only for throwing “sand into the gears of the machines that drive the academy’s democratic mission.” She finds other, positive effects of this philanthropic support for conservatism—off-campus and decades later.

Activist, organizer, and journalist Fredrik deBoer argues in his new book that ideologically progressive nonprofits are, to their detriment, too institutionally conservative. So might be conservative ones.

72.6% to 27.4%.

A regular curation.

Wealthy nonprofits, especially universities, increasingly demonstrate the same behaviors that led Congress to regulate foundations more than 50 years ago. The law should be updated to include these organizations.

From a Philanthropy Roundtable debate after original publication of the 2008 book by Dan Pallotta on which the new documentary film is based.

Quick reactions to some results of the Independent Sector survey with Edelman, in five short answers to one question.

“[A]cross the political divide.”

“Reshaping the Conversation: How to Rebuild Public Trust in Philanthropy.”

The successful conservative legal strategist and activist talks with Michael E. Hartmann about his groups’ current and contemplated activities in the wake of the recent precedent-setting Supreme Court decisions against race-based admissions in higher education, as well as the future of public-interest law in general.

The successful conservative legal strategist and activist talks with Michael E. Hartmann about the challenges of raising money for public-interest law in general and the mismatch between the perception and the reality of some of that funding in particular.

The online publication’s president and executive editor talks with Michael E. Hartmann about whether partisanship in the nonprofit sector reflects philanthropic strategies, the effect of Donald Trump on the left and the right in nonprofitdom, and what could perhaps be done to change the situation for the better.

The online publication’s president and executive editor talks with Michael E. Hartmann about advancing human freedom and American interests, his background, and his and the publication’s priorities.

Donors should know that any “answer” to poverty that takes the form of a paper or policy summit—even with the occasional overcoming-poverty anecdote thrown in for inspiration—is at best several degrees removed from making life better for the poor.

On September 26, “Reshaping the Conversation: How to Rebuild Public Trust in Philanthropy.”

Solutions to fix the “problem.”

We see the tripartite—dependent—relationship between government, commercial interests, and nonprofits in the rise of institutional DAFs.

Remembering Cordelia Taylor and her community.

Remembering Cordelia Taylor and her love for others.

Contemplating a framework for Schedule F that would default to full disclosure of all foreign grant recipients, but also provide an exception allowing for redaction when there is a genuine safety threat.

Approaching Labor Day, remembering Penn Kemble … and Robert Nisbet.

In 1994, the Bradley Foundation’s then-president described the “Bradley Project on the 90s,” led by Bill Kristol, and its call for a “new citizenship” that helped form the foundation’s grantmaking program.

Benda, Gurri, Rufo, and us.

“The expansion of politics into almost all aspects of life means that activities that were previously considered nonpartisan have been made partisan—legislation and regulation have not kept up,” concludes open letter co-signed by its chairman.

A regular curation.

“Philanthropy’s expanding footprint has spurred ongoing debates about how the nonprofit world is managed and regulated—a discussion I hope to contribute to in this column,” Kennedy writes.

Further, expanded reflections on Giving USA’s annual report on philanthropy.

“American taxpayers should not be forced to subsidize investments that benefit the Chinese Communist Party,” according to U.S. Rep. Mike Gallagher, a Republican from Wisconsin. “[I]nstitutions that want preferential tax treatment must choose ….”

The historian, researcher, and teacher talks to Daniel P. Schmidt and Michael E. Hartmann about The Bradley Project on America’s National Identity in 2008, the risks of “conservative accommodationism”—including in philanthropy—and the need for conservatives to provide a genuine American narrative that stands as an alternative to progressivism’s false one.

The historian, researcher, and teacher talks to Daniel P. Schmidt and Michael E. Hartmann about history and civics education, successful efforts to change the American narrative, and the risks of what he calls “conservative accommodationism” in the necessary attempt to rediscover a genuine one.

Manhattan Institute distinguished fellow harshly critiques Kenneth Griffin’s $300 million contribution to Harvard.

Wondering whether there may be symptoms of groupthink, of heavy-handed treatment of dissent, in philanthropy.

In various contexts.

Matt K. Lewis’ new book highlights partisan politicians benefiting greatly—politically and even personally—from a tax-exempt, nonprofit, charitable organization.

The analyst and author talks to Daniel P. Schmidt and Michael E. Hartmann about philanthropy’s reaction to popular discontent with elites, contemplates the populist future of conservatism, and considers some potential implications of that future for unpopular philanthropy.

The analyst and author talks to Daniel P. Schmidt and Michael E. Hartmann about philanthropy as an elite institution that should be as “on the defensive” against populist discontent as much as all of the other such institutions that have so ill-exercised their authority.

Part of American Confidence in Elections Act.

The economist and scholar of the nonprofit sector and philanthropy talks to Michael E. Hartmann about her recent article, “How Dark Is It? An Investigation of Dark Money Operations in U.S. Nonprofit Political Advocacy Organizations,” applies some economic analysis to the use of §501 (c)(4)s, and contemplates potential policy reform of (c)(4) status.

The economist and scholar of the nonprofit sector and philanthropy talks to Michael E. Hartmann about the definition(s) of “dark money,” and her recent article, “How Dark Is It? An Investigation of Dark Money Operations in U.S. Nonprofit Political Advocacy Organizations.”

A regular curation.

A mid-year collection of interesting and insightful thinking about grantmaking and giving.

Supporting knowledge and appreciation of American history, and democracy.

Remarks at the Council on Foundations annual conference a decade ago.

The anti-elite tone of Marco Rubio’s new book is evidence that he understands what gave rise to Donald Trump in 2016 and what that ascendant populism portends for future political and policy debates, including the politics surrounding—and potentially, the policy structuring—establishment philanthropy.

Suggesting a session for serious self-examination.

The association executive talks to Craig Kennedy and Michael E. Hartmann about donor-advised funds, charity and politics, and the attention-getting op-ed in support of civility and pluralism in the sector that she signed with five others.

The association executive talks to Craig Kennedy and Michael E. Hartmann about populism and polarization, the minimum-distribution requirement for private foundations, and foundations’ uses of donor-advised funds.

Carefully crafted, profoundly misguided.

What we are, and aren’t, saying to each other.

Shoulder to the wheel.

A regular curation.

Conservative donors need to take a hard look at where their dollars go.

Newly out in paperback, Stephen R. Soukup’s straightforward explanation of increasing “wokism” in the country’s for-profit sector necessarily includes the roles of some who are in the nonprofit sector, too.

The successful entrepreneur and Napa Institute founder talks to Michael E. Hartmann about his grantmaking, the importance of a focus on mission, and the continuing relevance of the work of Michael Novak.

The Carlyle Group co-founder and co-chairman talks to Daniel P. Schmidt and Michael E. Hartmann about his upcoming PBS documentary series examining the history and meaning of some of America’s iconic national symbols.

The Carlyle Group co-founder and co-chairman talks to Daniel P. Schmidt and Michael E. Hartmann about what he calls “patriotic philanthropy.”

What non-official sources can tell us about the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation.

A regular curation.

Learning again from a still-relevant event a decade ago at the Hudson Institute’s Bradley Center for Philanthropy and Civic Renewal.

The nationally prominent legal expert in the taxation of nonprofits talks to Michael E. Hartmann about the taxation of higher-education endowments, comparing and contrasting the rationale for it to that for taxing private-foundation endowments, and explores some tax ramifications of other, newly emerging forms of giving.

The nationally prominent legal expert in the taxation of nonprofits talks to Michael E. Hartmann about her career, the different revenue-raising and regulatory roles of the IRS, the non-revenue-related role of state attorneys general, the tax treatment of private-foundation endowments, and the challenges of following complicated IRS rules for small foundations.

A regular curation.

The editor, author, and commentator talks to Michael E. Hartmann about his article in the “Conservatism and the Future of Tax-Incentivized Big Philanthropy” symposium.

Remarks from a panel discussion on populism at the “Foundations on the Hill” event for foundation leaders and officials in Washington, D.C.

Remarks from a panel discussion on populism at the “Foundations on the Hill” event for foundation leaders and officials in Washington, D.C.

The author and commentator talks to Michael E. Hartmann about his article in the “Conservatism and the Future of Tax-Incentivized Big Philanthropy” symposium.

All contributions to The Giving Review online symposium, which have been published here during the past weeks, are now compiled in one printable document, “Conservatism and the Future of Tax-Incentivized Big Philanthropy.” The symposium is meant to earnestly and meaningfully explore conservatism’s past and future relationships with the country’s philanthropic establishment, which is overwhelmingly predominantly progressive,… Continue reading Contributions to “Conservatism and the Future of Tax-Incentivized Big Philanthropy” compiled in one document

The Philanthropy Roundtable’s Adam Meyerson Distinguished Fellow in Philanthropic Excellence talks to Michael E. Hartmann about her article and some of the others in the “Conservatism and the Future of Tax-Incentivized Big Philanthropy” symposium.

“Such an examination by a respected Congressional agency could reassure both critics and defenders of the IRS generally and the Exempt Organizations division in particular,” according to Ellen P. Aprill and Lloyd Hitoshi Mayer.

On February 9, The Giving Review ran a piece authored by Julius Krein, “What Do Conservative Donors Want?,” that alleges that the American Enterprise Institute (AEI) “recently had to hold an all-hands meeting to discuss whether it was still a conservative institution.”  The statement is laughably false. No such meeting has happened, or could happen,… Continue reading AEI: alleged meeting never took place

Follow the money.

Conservative philanthropy is in crisis. It needs to be self-critically clear and honest about its position, as well as disciplined in pursuing its issues and aims.

And what it may do to us, as well as the elites who created it.

Recognizing a tenuous credibility, and reviving a true charity.

Improve lives, grow and strengthen civil society, and demonstrate the power of private giving based on our core values.

It has reconstituted the very system that Alexis de Tocqueville once famously lauded Americans for not having. Meaningful reform will be of the hatchet, not the scalpel variety.

Hard questions.

Part of post-frontier America’s failed “managerial elite.”

Policymakers must divorce themselves from the old connotations of what they always believed “charity” represented, and instead see them as what they have morphed into today.

Sober historian, disciplined thought, jovial presence.

Newly out in paperback, Joel Kotkin’s book on the coming “neo-feudalism”—comparing current class conditions to those of the Middle Ages—correctly characterizes the current status and a current role of foundations.

Applying an analytical framework in another, related context.

An excerpt from our 2020 conversation with Samuel Gregg, during which he discusses Benedict and “the civilizational challenge of our time.”

An end-of-year collection of interesting and insightful passages.

This article, republished with permission, originally appeared in The Chronicle of Philanthropy on December 13, 2022.   With Democratic Senator Rafael Warnock’s victory last week, another contentious Georgia Senate race is over, and with it, the attention focused on nonprofits for their role in registering, educating, and mobilizing voters and monitoring the fairness of the electoral process.… Continue reading Georgia Senate race shows why the fraying line between charity and politics must be repaired

It is difficult to even conceive of, much less construct, what might be a conservative version of Reiser’s and Dean’s More Perfect Bargain. Nevertheless, some conservatives should at least try, perhaps even, however warily, with unorthodox allies—which not all conservatives, especially the energetic populist ones, find automatically off-putting.

We should be as willing to continue to learn from him as he has always so humbly been to learn from, and with, others.

An end-of-year collection of interesting and insightful thinking about grantmaking and giving.

Jurisdiction includes nonprofit tax law and its oversight.

Adam Rutherford’s new book about eugenics reminds us again of those progressive foundations that supported it—and that it’s long past time for a full and fair accounting of them for what they funded and fomented, and why.

Thank you.

Earlier this month, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton announced that he issued a “civil investigative demand” to the Center for Tech and Civic Life (CTCL) as part of an investigation into whether the nonprofit charity solicited donations under the pretext of protecting voters from Covid-19, while actually using raised money for partisan electioneering or election… Continue reading Ken Paxton’s questions of Mark Zuckerberg-funded CTCL show investigative power of state attorneys general

The educational administrator talks to Daniel P. Schmidt and Michael E. Hartmann about Catholic education, the importance of remaining faithful to its core mission of eternal salvation, and the educational and societal benefits of school choice.

The educational administrator talks to Daniel P. Schmidt and Michael E. Hartmann about Catholic education and identity, creating a community of learners and believers, and the challenge of raising money for its mission in the current culture.

This article originally appeared on the IUPUI Lilly Family School of Philanthropy blog on October 31, 2022.   In the second of the two 1889 essays known as “The Gospel of Wealth,” Andrew Carnegie tries to identify the “best uses” for philanthropic giving. At the top of his list, “standing apart by itself,” is founding a… Continue reading Did philanthropy kill Jane Stanford?

Egger: “I question openly whether those laws were designed by people to keep us right where we are. … [O]ur ultimate goal is to change the laws.”

Eisenberg: “[H]e strongly believes that the regulations governing nonprofits are too restrictive and should be changed to allow nonprofits to participate directly in political campaigns and partisan politics … and I heartily disagree.”

The economist and technologist talks to Michael E. Hartmann about the potential implications of decentralized autonomous organizations for philanthropy in contexts beyond the arts, including higher education, and whether they will complement or substitute for the many intermediaries in the existing grantmaking structure.

The economist and technologist talks to Michael E. Hartmann about blockchain technology, decentralized autonomous organizations, and what the nonprofit Living Arts DAO might be able to do for arts philanthropy.

Recalling, and appreciating, his insistence on support for the grassroots and willingness to criticize the powerful.

Many means.

A lengthening list.

A work to read in “the Wilderness.”

Floating a four-element ACE Act alternative.

Levels of ambition, including philanthropic, the impossibility of a “New Man,” and the consequences of trying to create him.

In southwest Florida after Hurricane Ian, thousands of people are pitching in to help their next-door neighbor and also the unknown victim of a flat tire in the middle of a busy road.

Active, outward, consistent conservatives getting top score in Forbes Philanthropy Score 2022: zero.

Using one guiding principle, here are two proposed reforms to improve the permissions, restrictions, and tax advantages around 501(c)4s.

The short of it: in his new book’s ambitious thinking about the “full scale of human history,” William MacAskill undervalues the past—by definition, but more than needed—and elides in practice what that thinking could perhaps offer those of a different ideological worldview.

Here are four serious proposals to separate “charitable” and “political” giving.

Apparently, the value of philanthropy is determined by the worldview of the gift-giver.

R.l.P.

The spotlight on the Newman’s Own Foundation invites scrutiny of its overall business model, one based on virtue-signaling intended to influence consumer behavior.

The questions stands.

Criticisms of Barre Seid’s historic $1.6 billion to the Marble Freedom Trust are ignorant of both details and context.

Increasing attention.

The heir, author, and researcher talks to Craig Kennedy and Michael E. Hartmann about philanthropy in America, including its “top-heaviness,” what could perhaps be done about it, and whether any charitable reform might be able to attract cross-ideological support.

The heir, author, and researcher talks to Craig Kennedy and Michael E. Hartmann about the “Wealth Defense Industry,” the degree to which philanthropy is used and charity is abused by the wealthy, and what could perhaps be done about it.

And knowledgeable observer of, and commentator on, philanthropy.

Honesty and balance.

The popular EconTalk podcast host Russ Roberts’ new book offers a helpful insight to any grantmakers willing to receive it—and self-aware enough to risk considering themselves as essentially engaged in art, not science.

Remembering “the voice of history.”

At three foundations in the “FoundationMark 15,” 100% of contributions made by employees went to Democrats. At 12, contributions to Democrats exceeded 96%.

As her memoir is released, the Holocaust survivor and philanthropy professional talks to Daniel P. Schmidt and Michael E. Hartmann about philanthropy and education reform, the need for reform of philanthropy itself, and the benefits of a universal basic income.

As her memoir is released, the Holocaust survivor and philanthropy professional talks to Daniel P. Schmidt and Michael E. Hartmann about her family history, education, and the American dream.

ICYMI.

The Spectrum Nonprofit Services founder and author talks to Michael E. Hartmann about nonprofit sustainability as an orientation and not a destination, and the states of nonprofitdom overall and philanthropy in particular.

The Spectrum Nonprofit Services founder and author talks to Michael E. Hartmann about his career and clientele, strategic plans and business plans as “a luxury,” and the proper relationship between donor influence on a nonprofit and its mission.

Overall, 81% oppose such tax incentivization, according to new survey from Institute for Policy Studies and conducted by Ipsos. Ninety percent of conservatives oppose it; 80% of liberals do.

As excerpts of a Watergate hearing show, concerns about the political activity of tax-incentivized charity are not new—having arisen soon after the 1969 Tax Reform Act that still provides the legal structure of nonprofitdom.

A mid-year collection of interesting and insightful thinking about grantmaking and giving.

A mid-year collection of interesting and insightful passages.

Given recent attention to the Federalist Society, policy-oriented donors can learn some underappreciated lessons from the Society’s early philanthropic support.

Don’t miss influential author, in new book, floating idea “in order to avoid an excessive concentration of power within a small number of entities and to enable less wealthy entities to develop.”

The former Bradley Foundation chairman talks to Daniel P. Schmidt and Michael E. Hartmann about short- and long-term grantmaking strategies, the politicization of philanthropy and donor freedom, the imbalance between left and right among major givers, and what conservatives should try doing about it.

The former Bradley Foundation chairman talks to Daniel P. Schmidt and Michael E. Hartmann about his decades’ worth of experience in real-estate investing, politics, and philanthropy.

And look at how to rebuild it.

Claire Dunning’s impressive new history on government support of nonprofits in Boston offers helpful insights for private philanthropy.

More to be made of that which it has wrought.

Editor David Callahan notes that philanthropic and nonprofit trade groups might “be out of touch with their own communities.”

Forty years ago this week, President Ronald Reagan delivered his historic speech to the British Parliament at Westminster, during which he famously predicted that Marxism-Leninism would end up “on the ash heap of history.” Daniel P. Schmidt writes about the Westminster speech in the article that we republish below, which originally appeared here on November 18,… Continue reading Revisiting Westminster before the fall of the Wall, and Sheptytsky before Schabowske

And in philanthropy?

An ActBlue clue.

After 16 years as chief executive officer and executive director of the M.J. Murdock Charitable Trust in Vancouver, Wash., Steve Moore is retiring at the end of next month, when Romanita Hairston will succeed him in the role. During Moore’s tenure at its helm, the Trust—one of the largest philanthropies in the Pacific Northwest—has continued… Continue reading A conversation with retiring Murdock Trust CEO Steve Moore (Part 2 of 2)

After 16 years as a philanthropic executive, he talks to Michael E. Hartmann about Jack Murdock and his fellow Tektronix founder Howard Vollum, the opportunities and challenges of planning for a foundation to exist in perpetuity, and the consequences of ideas, both good and bad.

High trust in nonprofits and philanthropy correlates with high socioeconomic status. Democrats trust philanthropy appreciably more than the general population.

Historian Gary Gerstle’s new book on America in what he considers the bygone free-market era includes a role for philanthropy in its narrative—well, at least in its purportedly “Powell-ian” rise, anyway.

Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse’s promise that any efforts to “clean up” the politicization of nonprofits will be pursued regardless of various practical effects on those engaging in it may present an opportunity.

Looking at some of the edifices, atriums, and façades.

As tracked by Candid, of top 200 givers, 121 are left-of-center and 21 are right-of-center. All but two of top 20 are left-leaning.

Congressional interest in sector’s activities seems to be increasing.

Healthy cooperation and equally healthy collisions between fully functioning capitalism, government, and civil society.

A “joke,” and other characterizations.

An earlier version of this article originally appeared at American Affairs on April 5, 2020. Establishment philanthropy in America is on the defensive—as it should be. Measured in terms of its size, the philanthropic sector is big and getting bigger; this is not necessarily a bad development in itself, but the sector’s growth in recent decades… Continue reading Philanthropy on the defensive

“The turn of so much of mainstream conservative philanthropy away from engaged foreign and defense policy work has been to America’s detriment, and to the detriment of the world as well,” according to the former Hudson Institute president. “It is time for conservative philanthropy to … return to supporting serious, sober, creative, security-oriented foreign-policy work ….”

“Vladimir Bukovsky, Václav Havel, Adam Michnik, and Czeslaw Milosz come to mind, among others,” according to the longtime Bradley Foundation vice president, “as do the Polish Solidarność trade union, the Czech Charter 77 group, and the Russian truth-telling group Memorial.”

“Peace is a conservative value, and a benefit to America and the world,” according to the Quincy Institute for Responsible Statecraft chief executive officer. “Increased conservative support for realism and restraint in U.S. foreign policy is imperative.”

“Left of center American donors now largely set the agenda and dominate international giving. There is a strong emphasis on exporting American morality on gender, orientation, and race, as well as a major focus on various development schemes in Africa and elsewhere,” the former Joyce Foundation and German Marshall Fund president writes. “There are no conservative donors that are supporting alternatives to this agenda.”

“After helping people in their moments of crisis and humanitarian need,” according to the Wilson Center president, “conservative giving should focus on capacity building and supporting people, communities, and countries in their journey to self-reliance.”

Overall, giving by conservatives in America to support organizations and projects concerned with foreign policy and national security, as well as to groups and efforts at work “on the ground” in other countries that promote democracy or provide humanitarian aid, seems to have changed in many ways during the past decade, if not longer—concerningly to… Continue reading Symposium on conservative international giving: Introduction

The writer, analyst, and podcast co-host talks to Michael E. Hartmann about how conservative philanthropy was caught flat-footed by the political ascendancy of conservative populism in 2016 and progressive and populist discontent with elites, potentially including nonprofit and philanthropic ones.

The writer, analyst, and podcast co-host talks to Michael E. Hartmann about ideas, why we believe in the ones we do, and how sophisticated argumentation can better help us know that. “It’s perfectly all right with us to not find agreement,” he says.

The professor of public policy and political science talks to Michael E. Hartmann about how policy plutocrats actually go about trying to get their way, the effects of this plutocracy, critiques of it from both progressives and populist conservatives, and whether there could be some overlap in those critiques as philanthropy reforms might be proposed and considered in the future.

The professor of public policy and political science talks to Michael E. Hartmann about her career, and the level and nature of academic study and journalistic coverage of policy-oriented philanthropy.

As his book on the John M. Olin Foundation is released in paperback, we feature its author talking to Michael E. Hartmann and Daniel P. Schmidt about Olin himself, his decision to “sunset” the foundation, the reasons for its success, and whether—and if so, how—other conservative givers could replicate that success now and in the future.

As his book on the John M. Olin Foundation is released in paperback, we feature The College Fix founder talking to Michael E. Hartmann and Daniel P. Schmidt about the benefits of a long-term philanthropic outlook in ambitious projects like transforming the media.

Parsing a few Sections, Parts, columns, and Schedules.

Among other things, according to the outgoing Hewlett Foundation program staffer, “Knowing that I would hold my position for only eight years has, throughout my service at the Foundation, reminded me that this is not my money.”

There’s a lot to talk about.

This article, republished with permission, originally appeared on the great Rockefeller Archive Center’s (RAC’s) RE:source website on February 20, 2019. It is based on the keynote address of a conference RAC organized on the 50th anniversary of the Tax Reform Act of 1969. (Footnotes omitted.)   Fifty years ago, on December 30, 1969, President Richard Nixon… Continue reading From populist crusade to comprehensive regulation: the Tax Reform Act of 1969

The journalism-nonprofit president talks to Michael E. Hartmann about the state of the Fourth Estate, the thinking that can and should happen in its decentralized online marketplace, and the thoughtful current re-examinations in both conservatism and liberalism.

The journalism-nonprofit president talks to Michael E. Hartmann about his education and its benefits, the consequences of ideas in New York City, the worth of having a place for dialogue and reporting online, and philanthropy at its best.

The lazy failure to burn down much of this progressivist cladding has hampered conservatives at every turn. And yet they still do nothing to react against the laws, groups and funding sources that they control and suffer from.

Including potential witnesses.

William A. Schambra, Further thoughts on “other-side” giving, July 17, 2019 (“The tricky part of ‘other-side’ giving for conservative funders—the dilemma that also faced capitalist funders of socialist trade unions after World War II—is that the grants aren’t going to compliant ideological allies who share the full range of conservative political beliefs. They’re going to… Continue reading A collection of Giving Review articles about conservative international philanthropy, during and informed by the Cold War

Given the growing number of harsh progressive, populist, and just plain rule-of-law critiques about so much of unelected, unaccountable, and tax-favored establishment philanthropy, there may be a desire on the part of policymakers to aggressively examine some or all of it again.

“[P]rivate foundations had become increasingly active in political and legislative activities,” according to Congressional staff. “[F]unds were spent in a ways clearly designed to favor certain candidates. In some cases, this was done by financing registration campaigns in certain areas.”

“Patman had much to allege with respect to his Committee’s accumulated evidence of … foundation abuse of the sanctuary of income tax exemption,” according to the Midland, Mich., tax attorney’s 1964 law-review article.

The scholar of nonprofit and election law talks to Michael E. Hartmann about past and potential future cross-ideological overlap in the critique of establishment philanthropy, non-exempt vehicles for wealthy givers, and the roles and capabilities of the IRS and the FEC.

The scholar of nonprofit and election law talks to Michael E. Hartmann about what should and shouldn’t be considered a subsidy for charities, and the relationships between charity, politics, and government.

Adding a new entry—but still counting on one hand, maybe two.

The American Enterprise Institute senior fellow talks to Michael E. Hartmann about donor-advised funds and anonymous giving through them, as well as the large, mostly progressive foundations’ influence and self-perpetuating non-accountability.

The American Enterprise Institute senior fellow talks to Michael E. Hartmann about his career, the Civil Society Awards program, whether civil society is a “luxury good,” and philanthropy and donor-advised funds.

“Political activity,” according to the Reece Committee general counsel’s 1958 book, “endangers the future of the foundation as an institution.”

What might she think of The New York Times’ in-depth investigation of nonprofits and politics?

Conceptually, to what sort of standard or standards, if any, should giving advisors of various sorts be held, by whom, and how?

Nobody asked, but …

Counting on one hand, maybe two.

2022 Edelman Trust Barometer finds trust in business remains higher than that in NGOs.

“Using tax privileges, matching grants, special restrictions, and unique legal devices, the modern state gives the practice of philanthropy its particular strength and texture,” according to Theodore M. Lechterman. “Which if any of these regulatory strategies can be justified requires careful analysis and evaluation.”

Levels of ambition, including philanthropic, the impossibility of a “New Man,” and the consequences of trying to create him.

The analyst and commentator talks to Michael E. Hartmann about infrastructure, incrementalism, involvement, and new institutions, as well as good giving tactics.

The analyst and commentator talks to Michael E. Hartmann about professional leftist activism and the right’s lackluster equivalent, accomplishing technical tasks in hostile environments, and successfully organizing by building community and new institutions.

A year-end collection of interesting and insightful thinking about grantmaking and giving.

An appreciation of honesty, and a call for serious debate.

A year-end collection of interesting and insightful passages.

Pondering pills, considering colors.

Trying to help build more trust among farmers and those who serve and finance them would yield much benefit.

From the Carnegie Corporation’s promotion of eugenics to—as Maribel Morey’s new book provocatively argues—its furthering of white supremacy, establishment philanthropy in America has much to answer for, and to resolve. It will have to do so in the coming years, in what will likely be an uncharitable cultural and political context. In all of American establishment philanthropy’s… Continue reading Philanthropy’s original sin

As Tim Stanley recalls it in his new book, Tevye says “You may ask, how did this tradition get started. I’ll tell you. I don’t know.” And another, unsettling question: without tradition, will there be anything left?

“I could hear them as if it were yesterday. I can hear the voices.”

On the newest “Givers, Doers, & Thinkers” podcast, Philanthropy Daily publisher Jeremy Beer talks to Giving Review co-editor and Capital Research Center senior fellow Michael E. Hartmann about the biggest challenges facing philanthropy today.

Let’s be uncharitable: how charity foundations damage Western societies.

Philanthropy and data, oxytocin and neurological unity, and love and charity in Arthur C. Brooks’ new book on the culture of contempt.

Thank you.

Christopher DeMuth’s is a deeply insightful critique to be taken seriously, including by conservative philanthropy.

Tax likely to remain at current level, at least for now. “The Harvard faculty club should lay in extra scotch for members to drown their sorrows,” according to a tax-policy expert.

Considering the proper distance between charity and politics.

The State Policy Network executive vice president talks to Michael E. Hartmann about love of neighbor, Tocqueville, localism, and politics, as well as more about philanthropy.

The State Policy Network executive vice president talks to Michael E. Hartmann about path dependence, his career in conservative policy-oriented nonprofitdom, and whether philanthropy has contributed to the decline of American self-governance.

The conservative grassroots activist, author, and commentator talks to Michael E. Hartmann more about ideas, action, and giving, as well as some recent proposals to reform philanthropy.

The conservative grassroots activist, author, and commentator talks to Michael E. Hartmann about ideas and action, and giving and grifting.

The tax-law scholar talks to Michael E. Hartmann more about whether the reasoning underlying the excise tax on higher-education endowments could apply to private foundations, the potential for a cross-ideological coalition to back philanthropy reform, and the real-world ramifications of such reform.

The tax-law scholar talks to Michael E. Hartmann about the excise tax on investment income in higher education and whether its underlying reasoning could perhaps also apply in other nonprofit contexts.

A thought experiment.

“[T]oday’s politics of the street,” according to political historian Donald T. Critchlow, “resembles that of the late Roman Republic, when oligarchs, such as Caesar, Sulla, and Catiline, organized mobs to serve their factional interests.”

Foundations’ collective effort presented as exemplary isn’t, or at least not for the reasons the consultants think.

On the newest InfluenceWatch podcast, Capital Research Center (CRC) research director Michael Watson talks to CRC senior fellow and Giving Review co-editor Michael E. Hartmann for 26 minutes about establishment philanthropy in America and some recent harsh reactions to and critiques of it.

Leslie Lenkowsky: “obvious solution” to “money not really being used for charitable purposes” is to end “tax deduction for all contributions.”

As establishment philanthropy defends its position in American society, it would do well to tend to more than just one flank.

A work to read in “the Wilderness.”

Where New Labour boldly reformed schools, Keir Starmer retreats to the class-war comfort zone.

Education is a public good, but so is medicine and Pfizer doesn’t claim to be a charity.

Philanthropic insights from Bloomberg Businessweek reporter Max Chafkin’s new biography of PayPal co-founder, Silicon Valley venture capitalist, and intellectual and political provocateur Peter Thiel.

Twenty-five years after enactment of state and federal work-based welfare reform, the executive director of the Secretaries’ Innovation Group (SIG) addresses philanthropy and welfare reform, SIG, and application of the reform concepts internationally.

Twenty-five years after enactment of state and federal work-based welfare reform, the executive director of the Secretaries’ Innovation Group covers the circumstances surrounding the reforms’ passage and the positive effects of their implementation.

The cutting critique of and stance against corporate America’s adoption of an extreme social-justice agenda in Vivek Ramaswamy’s new book could certainly, and perhaps should, be considered in the context of politicized charitable nonprofitdom, too.

We cannot allow our fantastic philanthropic institutions to become subsumed by wokery.

More receptivity to and respect for faith at the top of establishment grantmaking in the country might be beneficial, too.

Policymakers, protection, and power.