Just realized that in Shah's interview w/ AP, he did make that sort of stronger claim: “Obviously, an institution like the Rockefeller Foundation has an even higher level of responsibility because we’re an even bigger beneficiary of that process." Good.
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Benjamin Soskis
@BenSoskis
Historian of philanthropy, Philly sports fan, devotee of the Pogues. Co-editor of , researcher. Tweets rep no one's views but my own.
urban.org/author/benjami…Joined May 2017
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And, of course, the trick is that foreknowledge of philanthropic redress shouldn't provide license or cover for bad acts in present. But for legacy foundations, where the damage is done....
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This is or should be distinct from pursuit of reputation laundering or greenwashing. But as acceptance that all philanthropy should have some element of redress in it, that accounting for harms by which money was made should be some constraints on how it is redistributed.
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Whether or not its in an explicitly reparative framework, more funders are taking historical stock of how their wealth was made & thru what harms & thinking abt how it should shape their philanthropic priorities. Not in terms of irony but in terms of responsibility.
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In announcing that will make climate change central to foundation's work, notes "irony" of RF's roots in Standard Oil $. But I wish he'd posed a stronger link btw roots of philanthropic wealth & contemp. philanthropic practice.
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Once in a while you just need to remind yourself abt how absolutely morally odious these people are.
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Gaetz: "Why is it that the women with the least likelihood of getting pregnant are the ones most worried about having abortions? Nobody wants to impregnate you if you look like a thumb."
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That's all I have now. There will definitely be more and i will add to the thread. But if there are others i've missed, please do so as well.
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and a judicious consideration of the popularist critique of foundations from and pushback from Gara LaMarche
twitter.com/BenSoskis/stat
histphil.org/2022/01/24/why
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"Should Progressive Funders Be Paying Closer Attention to the Fate of the Democratic Party?" @PhilipRojc's characteristically judicious take on the popularist critique of progressive philanthropy.
insidephilanthropy.com/home/2022/4/21
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Michael Lind includes a variation on the theme in his long lament in Tablet, w/ its invocation of nonprofit industrial complex.
tabletmag.com/sections/news/
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1: Yet another long diatribe against “the closing of the Progressive mind,” this one by Michael Lind, which places blame squarely on coterie of progressive funders. Once again, I think this vastly exaggerates role of philanthropy as lead actor in the trends which Lind identifies.
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And of course, they made an appearance in much-discussed article on meltdowns in progressive advocacy orgs.
twitter.com/BenSoskis/stat
theintercept.com/2022/06/13/pro -
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I've been tracking role given to philanthropy in recent spate of critical piece on prog. advocacy & movement orgs. This from @ryangrim is worth reading & includes what seems to me right take on philanthropy's role: not driver, but amplifier, of dynamics.
interc.pt/3MNTXKp
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See also some of 's astute analysis of failure of recent prog. social movements for echoes as well
theconnector.substack.com/p/and-we-are-n
twitter.com/BenSoskis/stat
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Very important reflections from @Mlsif prompted by the recent passing of Democracy Alliance founder Rob Stein, on the failure of big $ Dem donors to match right-wing support for movement building.
insidephilanthropy.com/home/2022/5/13
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What's made this trend esp. interesting is how some echoes of complaints abt prog. funders have appeared not just in centrist gripes, but also from more left-leaning analysts, like
nymag.com/intelligencer/
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Latest in ongoing series: how popularist critiques of leftward shift of the Dem party frame the active roles philanthropy and wealthy donors have played in it (this one from @zengerle in NYT mag).
nytimes.com/2022/06/29/mag
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Then there was an early version of the Eddsall-ian argument (which you could also find in some of now deleted tweets) from
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The most recent was this Politco piece on Ruy Teixeira's move from CAP to AEI, w/ some griping aby foundations not funding his work on white working class.
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In prep for trying to write an article on the trend & in case it's useful to others, here are links, consolidated in one thread, to the recent spate of articles that complain abt state of prog. nonprofits (either too woke or insular) & assign philanthropy leading role in shift.
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Good reporting on conflicts over who will control Musk's charitable giving, such as it is, and none of it inspires much confidence in his charitable giving, such as it is.
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But here, he also blames foundations for not being willing to fund his projects, which sought to center economic issues as opposed to cultural or identity-based one. That is a philanthropy story--though hard to say exactly what it means
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Here, his complaints seems to be that a rising cohort of younger staffers, with a more identity-based politics, made working at CAP difficult. Not a philanthropy story--more a story abt widescale generational clashes that we see in politics as well as throughout civil society.
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You know the drill: another critical account of leftward shift w/in progressive institutions that seems to give foundations leading causal role, this time from Ruy Teixeira, who's moving from CAP to AEI. But like many of those accunts, nature of that role isnt really clear.
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Are you a PhD student whose research areas include philanthropy, civil society, social entrepreneurship, voluntary action, or nonprofit?
If so, #EAS2022 should interest you!
To learn more and apply, click on the link below:
arocsa.org/eas-call-2022/
Deadline: July 15, 2022
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More evidence that we're in a progressive Skocpolian moment, of deep unease w/ weakness of movements & dissatisfaction w/ nonprofit orgs that preside over landscape, w/ thin ties based on giving $. Lots of good stuff in this interview.
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Indeed exciting, including for the history of philanthropy. Some important texts now more accessible, including Julius Rosenwald's 1929 & 1930's tracts on his philosophy of giving; + some significant writings from early 20th C. on scientific charity. Lots more...
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This is exciting! We've just finished digitizing and posting all the stories from the 165-year history of @TheAtlantic. Explore. Search. Browse the work by Alcott, Du Bois, Frost, Hemingway, Twain and so many more. bit.ly/3AWFDNx
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Big new indeed! Congrats to Rhodri on this new platform, which will be an important hub for philanthropy history & analysis!
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Philanthropy Matters.
whyphilanthropymatters.com
It’s a new organisation (and website) that aims to provide a space for exploring philanthropy: what it is, how it works and how it affects all of our lives.
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I run ’s Nonprofit Explorer, so I spend a lot of time with tax-exempt organization data.
But there’s a large group of these organizations for which we don’t get any data, because they aren’t required to submit tax returns: Churches.
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Griffin spent $54M to defeat a 2019 measure that would have required him (and other rich Illinois residents) to pay more in state income tax, as reported today (propublica.org/article/ken-gr) by & for
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Ken Griffin donates $130 million to Chicago groups chicagotribune.com/business/ct-bi
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Professional news -- I am writing a book:
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An eye opening interview from w/ tech lawyer & entrepreneur Nicole Shanahan, her first after announcement of her divorce from Google co-founder Sergey Brin. Very likely set to be an even more significant philanthropic player.
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The U.S. default toward charitable pluralism depends on a threshold level of trust, based on a minimum of IRS ovresight, which, as makes clear, is now a sham. IRS needs more funding for exempt-org oversight ASAP.
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Walker didnt name names & so most ppl who read his op-ed will miss extent to which it represents an intervention into an ongoing internecine conflict w/in progressive philanthropy & civil society abt merits/dangers of moderation & engagement w/ centrists.
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That finding is a well-deserved slap in the face to folks like me, who spend a lot of time focusing on large-scale monetary contributions by ultra-HNWIs. I still think those donations deserve plenty of attn, for reasons of democratic accountability, but no doubt balance is off.
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Finally getting a chance to read 's report on 2021 trends in global generosity. It's a must read for those trying to promote a more expansive def. of "giving." One key finding: only 10% of giving in US was of money to registered charities.
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Latest in ongoing series: how popularist critiques of leftward shift of the Dem party frame the active roles philanthropy and wealthy donors have played in it (this one from in NYT mag).
nytimes.com/2022/06/29/mag
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Finally read that WSJ article on Buffett estate planning & how it will effect BMGF & STBF. Lots of good details, but this jumped out at me. Is it really true that named rights received as part of pledge can help make it enforceable?
wsj.com/articles/warre
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Is community input "bad?" No, but the way it's done often is. & I weigh in on this issue raised in an article by bit.ly/3NA1soq #civicengagement #philanthropy #democracy #participatorygrantmaking
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Lots of data to mull over in here, not least more evidence of the decline in the % of people giving to charity (which we’re seeing in other countries too)
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Our latest #UKGivingReport on the landscape of charitable giving is now available, showcasing insights into the response to the war in Ukraine, and how rising living costs are affecting donations.
Click the link below to read more 
cafonline.org/about-us/publi #Charity
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There is a chance--a chance--that this is a radicalizing moment for mainstream philanthropy; that the lines btw mainstream & progressive funders will blur thru the funding of reproductive justice, which would then shape other grantmaking practices & priorities. Again, a chance.
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A thread from @melindagates starts: Today a government in which women have never had an equal voice reached deep into the most private corners of a woman’s life to tell her the choice over what she does w/ her body is no longer her own. This is America taking a big step backward.
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