The Foundation: A Great American Secret; How Private Wealth is Changing the WorldFoundations are a peculiarly American institution. They have been the dynamo of social change since their invention at the beginning of the last century. Yet they are cloaked in secrecy -- their decision-making and operations are inscrutable to the point of obscurity-leaving them substantially unaccountable to anyone. Joel Fleishman has been in and around foundations for almost half a century . . . running them, sitting on their boards, and seeking grants from them. And in this groundbreaking book he explains the history of foundations, tells the stories of the most successful foundation initiatives -- and of those that have failed -- and explains why it matters. The baby boomer generation is going to participate in the largest transfer of wealth in history when it passes on its assets to its successor generation. The third sector is about to become more powerful than ever. This book shows how foundations can provide a vital spur to the engine of the American, and the world's, economy -- if they are properly established and run. |
Contents
1 | |
45 | |
57 | |
71 | |
3 Why They Give 91 | 91 |
The Highest Use of Philanthropic Capital 105 | 105 |
5 Foundation Strategy in Principle 117 | 117 |
6 Foundation Strategy in Practice 127 | 127 |
12 How Foundations Fail 261 | 261 |
Discipline Boundaries and Persistence 285 | 285 |
14 Should Foundations Be Permitted to Exist in Perpetuity? 309 | 309 |
Some NotSoModest Proposals 323 | 323 |
Philanthropy in the Twentyfirst Century 341 | 341 |
Acknowledgments 357 | 357 |
List of Those Interviewed 363 | 363 |
List of Cases 369 | 369 |
Other editions - View all
The Foundation: A Great American Secret : how Private Wealth is Changing the ... Joel L. Fleishman No preview available - 2007 |
The Foundation: A Great American Secret; How Private Wealth is Changing the ... Joel L. Fleishman No preview available - 2009 |
Common terms and phrases
achieve advocacy African American America’s civic sector American Andrew Carnegie assets Atlantic Philanthropies benefit Bill and Melinda Borlaug Buffett building Carnegie Corporation community foundations Council created criticism dollars donors Duke economic effective efforts endowment example failure Fleishman Flexner focus focused for-profit Ford Foundation foun foundation initiatives foundation’s founder Gates Foundation gifts giving goals Grameen Bank grantmaking grants Green Revolution groups high-impact Ibid impact individuals institutions interview John Lagemann launched leadership major medical education Melinda Gates Mellon million National Olin Foundation Open Society Institute operating organizations Packard percent perpetual foundations Pew Charitable Trusts polyarchy President problems public policy reform Robert Wood Johnson Rockefeller Foundation role Rosenwald schools Sesame Street significant social entrepreneurship society solve Soros staff strategy success tions tobacco today’s trustees University Press Warren Buffett wealth Wood Johnson Foundation York