This week’s contributors to the Philanthropy & Inequality Forum—particularly Alice O’Connor and I—made mention of the Ford Foundation’s recent announcement to make global inequality its principal grantmaking focus. Before moving on with the forum on Monday with contributions by Karen Ferguson, Leah Gordon, and Daniel Geary, here is a list of other pieces from various … Continue reading
Author Archives: HistPhil
Is Ford’s Inequality Focus a Turning Point in the History of Philanthropy & Capitalism?
Editors’ Note: The philanthropy & inequality forum continues with this post by Alice O’Connor. Earlier contributors to this forum include HistPhil co-founder Maribel Morey and Faith Mitchell, president and CEO of Grantmakers in Health (GIH). There are some refreshingly forthright things about Ford Foundation President Darren Walker’s announcement of the foundation’s intention to make inequality the central focus of grantmaking under … Continue reading
Philanthropy is Capable of Addressing Inequality Effectively
Editors’ Note: Today, we begin a discussion on philanthropy and inequality with posts by HistPhil co-founder Maribel Morey and, below, by Faith Mitchell, president and CEO of Grantmakers in Health (GIH). James Crawford, my great-great grandfather, was an American taxpayer who could not vote or own property. His children were able to attend school only when … Continue reading
Will Ford’s Equality Initiative Be Radical or More of the Same?
Editors’ Note: Taking the Ford Foundation’s equality program as a starting point of conversation, HistPhil is hosting a forum on the past and present relationship between philanthropy and inequality in the United States. Today, we begin this discussion with posts by HistPhil co-editor Maribel Morey and then by Faith Mitchell, president and CEO of Grantmakers in … Continue reading
What does philanthropy look like?
On Monday, we will begin a discussion on philanthropy & inequality. In the meantime, though, here is a light-hearted call for suggestions on a “stock” image for HistPhil: You may have noticed that HistPhil has been using photos of our contributors to accompany posts. We thought that as we develop a community of scholars and practitioners all interested … Continue reading
Responding to Nick Kristof’s NYTimes Piece on the Gateses
Over the years I have tried to teach myself not to fire until I see the whites of their eyes, but yesterday’s New York Times column by Nick Kristof has pushed me over the edge for what it says about philanthropy—and how the media covers the sector. The column apparently follows an interview Bill and Melinda … Continue reading
What it means to think historically about philanthropy
Broadly conceived, HistPhil is dedicated to encouraging the philanthropic and nonprofit sectors to think historically about their work. What, precisely, this means in practice is still something of an open question. Two recent op-eds have helped me in approaching an answer. In The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Tom Watson celebrates the Ford Foundation’s recently announced commitment … Continue reading
What if Tocqueville had travelled to Prussia, instead of the U.S.?
Editors’ Note: Earlier this week, Olivier Zunz and Emma Saunders-Hastings discussed Alexis de Tocqueville’s views on philanthropy, with Saunders-Hastings arguing that the sector today is more aristocratic than democratic in the Tocquevillian sense. Responding to this ongoing conversation on Tocqueville’s observations of American life, Thomas Adam explains that philanthropy is not unique to democracies nor does it necessarily signal a … Continue reading
Is American Philanthropy Really Democratic in the Tocquevillian Sense?
Editors’ Note: In an earlier post, Olivier Zunz outlined Alexis de Tocqueville’s thoughts on associations and philanthropy. Here, Emma Saunders-Hastings argues that, while many individuals have noted Tocqueville’s remarks on philanthropy as highlighting the special place of philanthropy in American life, the sector today is more aristocratic than democratic in the Tocquevillian sense. Alexis de Tocqueville’s Democracy in America gives … Continue reading
Alexis de Tocqueville on Associations and Philanthropy
Editors’ Note: In the past weeks, HistPhil contributors such as Larry Kramer and Olivier Zunz have made mention of Alexis de Tocqueville in their respective Q&As. Here, Olivier Zunz goes into further detail on the nineteenth-century French scholar’s thoughts on associations and philanthropy. In a subsequent post, Emma Saunders-Hastings asks whether American philanthropy today is democratic in the … Continue reading
Peter Dobkin Hall (1946-2015)
Editors’ Note: On April 30, American philanthropic and nonprofit history lost one of its leading scholars. Peter Dobkin Hall’s work — ambitious, provocative, and meticulously researched — helped define the field, sparking debate and seeding lines of research inquiry, as did his leadership in organizations and institutions such as ARNOVA, Yale’s Program on Nonprofit Organizations, and … Continue reading
What I Shared With Peter Dobkin Hall
Editors’ Note: On April 30, American philanthropic and nonprofit history lost one of its leading scholars, Peter Dobkin Hall. Today, HistPhil offers reflections on the man and his work from two of Hall’s colleagues. The first tribute is by David C. Hammack, followed by this second one by George E. Marcus. Another moving tribute to Hall, from legal scholar … Continue reading
On OpenDemocracy: An Analysis of the Ford Foundation’s New Mission
Earlier today, openDemocracy published an insightful piece by Erica Kohl-Arenas examining the Ford Foundation’s new mission to eradicate inequality. In “Can philanthropy ever reduce inequality,” the author questions whether the Foundation will stray from the history of U.S. philanthropy and attack “inequality at its roots” instead of simply promoting “the tradition of individualized ‘racial uplift’ or ‘self-help’ that calls for assimilation, … Continue reading
The 19th Cent: When Humanitarianism Meant Something Different
Editors’ Note: Below, Abigail Green discusses some of the central claims in one of her most recent academic pieces, “Humanitarianism in Nineteenth-Century Context: Religious, Gendered, National” (The Historical Journal, Dec. 2014). In a subsequent post, Amanda Moniz responds to Green’s article. Teaching at Oxford, I’m familiar with the idea that ‘you have to understand the past to understand the present’: … Continue reading
Responding to Abigail Green’s “Humanitarianism in Nineteenth-Century Context”
Editors’ Note: In another post on this site, Abigail Green discusses some of the central claims in one of her most recent academic pieces, “Humanitarianism in Nineteenth-Century Context: Religious, Gendered, National” (The Historical Journal, Dec. 2014). Below, Amanda Moniz responds to Green’s article. Historian or practitioner, our shared interest in the past, present, and future of philanthropy and humanitarianism makes us a … Continue reading
SHAFR’s Annual Conference: Discussing Philanthropy, Humanitarianism, and Human Rights
Editors’ Note: In late June, the annual meeting of the Society for Historians of American Foreign Relations (SHAFR) took place in Washington DC; and in an earlier post on this site, we noted that some of its panels would be of interest to HistPhil readers. Here, Amanda Moniz provides us with a snapshot of conversations on philanthropy, humanitarianism, and … Continue reading
In The Boston Review: Forum on the Logic of Effective Altruism
In the current issue of The Boston Review, Peter Singer opens a debate on the logic of effective altruism. Respondents include Daron Acemoglu, Angus Deaton, Jennifer Rubenstein, Larissa MacFarquhar, Leila Janah, Emma Saunders-Hastings, Rob Reich, Paul Brest, Iason Gabriel, András Miklós, and Catherine Tumber. This forum is definitely worth a read for anyone interested in analyzing what it means … Continue reading
A Call for More Transnational Histories of Philanthropy
Editors’ Note: To our readers in the U.S., welcome back from a long holiday weekend! We continue our discussion of the field with the below post by Thomas Adam. In the next week, we will be discussing philanthropy and humanitarianism on the global stage. As always, though, please reach out to HistPhil‘s editors with commentary and … Continue reading
Q&A with Hewlett Foundation President Larry Kramer
Editors’ Note: The following is a conversation between Hewlett Foundation President Larry Kramer and HistPhil co-founder Maribel Morey. It was conducted via email in February and early March, and inspired by Kramer’s 2015 Roberts Lecture at Penn Law “‘To Adjust These Clashing Interests’: Negotiation and Compromise as Core Constitutional Values.” A constitutional scholar and historian who is now a foundation president, Larry Kramer … Continue reading
What is New about Sean Parker’s Vision for Philanthropy?
Editors’ Note: Whether it was meant to or not, the publicity roll-out for tech mogul Sean Parker’s Parker Foundation makes a series of historical arguments and raises a host of questions that are worth grappling with. What is really new about what Parker calls “hacker philanthropy?” What should we make about Parker’s arguments, best expressed in his Wall … Continue reading
HistPhil 