Philanthropia

The scholar of philanthropy and nonprofit groups talks to Michael E. Hartmann about some risks in foundations’ uses of history, including potentially to constrain current choices; philanthropy’s need to justify itself to the public and policymakers and the role of historical narratives in providing legitimacy; ways in which foundations can better preserve and use their institutional memories, and philanthropy’s tendency to present old ideas as innovations; and the recurring tensions between presentism, long-term thinking about the future, and the “dead hand” of the past.

The scholar of philanthropy and nonprofit groups talks to Michael E. Hartmann about his article “The Constructed Past of Philanthropic Foundations: A Conceptual Framework.”