Philanthropy, Left and Right

Program and Panel

12:15
Introduction by KRISTA SHAFFER, Hudson Institute

12:20
Panel discussion
JEFF KREHELY, National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy
ALICIA MANNING, Lynde & Harry Bradley Foundation
DAVID RIGGS, Koch Foundation
JOE WILSON, Public Welfare Foundation

12:45
Questions and answers

1:45
Adjournment

Event Description

In the nonprofit sector, few jobs seem as mysterious to outsiders as that of the foundation program officer. Program officers identify and work with foundation grant recipients. “To whom to give, for what?” and “What is the right way to give and receive?” are questions they regularly face, sometimes involving large sums of money, all in a day’s work.

Observers are finding it increasingly useful to apply the ideological labels of “left” and “right” to such decisions. Moreover, many foundations see themselves as upholding a particular ideology. These tendencies beg the question, how do rationales for giving differ between the right and the left? Do ideological distinctions play a role in how foundations set their priorities and direct their grants, and in how grantees are evaluated as receivers? Should they?

On July 27, 2004, Hudson Institute’s Bradley Center for Philanthropy and Civic Renewal brought together three current program officers and one former special assistant at a foundation to discuss personal and professional experiences in philanthropy of the left and right: Jeff Krehely of the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, the Bradley Foundation’s Alicia Manning, David Riggs of the Koch Foundation, and the Public Welfare Foundation’s Joe Wilson. Bradley Center’s Krista Shaffer served as moderator.

This event was organized exclusively for Washington interns and intern coordinators, over seventy of whom attended. The panelists described how ideology influences grantmaking, as they’ve experienced it. During the question-and-answer session, the discussion broadened in response to several questions about current issues, including one about what foundations can do to locate smaller, grassroots nonprofits in need of funding; another about the legalities of foundation advocacy; a third question, about foundation expertise and what grantees can learn; and a fourth, about coordination and collaboration among foundations.

For details, click here to download a copy of the event transcript.

For Further Information

 
To request further information on this event, the transcript, or the Bradley Center, please contact Hudson Institute at (202) 974-2424 or e-mail Kristen at kmcintyre@hudson.org.