INSIDE PHILANTHROPY
When donors approach a non- profit, "they're more
likely to say not
'How can I help you?' but 'Here's my agenda,'" Nicholas Lemann, the former dean of the Columbia [University Graduate] School of Journalism, told me. Mainstream news organizations haven't caught on to this new activism, he said, adding that most of them are into covering "the 'giving pledge,'" by which the rich commit to giving away at least half their wealth in their lifetime. David Callahan, the
founder and editor of Inside Philanthropy, a website that tracks this world, says that "philanthropy is having as much influence as campaign contributions, but campaign contributions get all the attention. The imbalance is stunning to me."
'How can I help you?' but 'Here's my agenda,'" Nicholas Lemann, the former dean of the Columbia [University Graduate] School of Journalism, told me. Mainstream news organizations haven't caught on to this new activism, he said, adding that most of them are into covering "the 'giving pledge,'" by which the rich commit to giving away at least half their wealth in their lifetime. David Callahan, the
founder and editor of Inside Philanthropy, a website that tracks this world, says that "philanthropy is having as much influence as campaign contributions, but campaign contributions get all the attention. The imbalance is stunning to me."
Callahan, the author of Fortunes of Change: The Rise of the
Liberal Rich and the Remaking of America (2010), created Inside
Philanthropy in 2013 to help fill this gap. (The Chronicle
of Philanthropy is another valuable resource.) The site offers a rich storehouse of information about the causes to which the wealthy give.
of Philanthropy is another valuable resource.) The site offers a rich storehouse of information about the causes to which the wealthy give.
An
entry on Robert
Mercer, for instance, notes
that he is
the co-CEO of Renaissance
Tech- nologies (a hedge
fund) and a leading contributor to
Super PACs, and
that his
family foundation backs a sprawling
array of conservative
institutions, including the Media Research Center,
which scans the media for liberal bias; the George W. Bush Foundation, which
supports the Bush library and museum; and the Heartland Institute, a leading promoter of climate-change denial.
which scans the media for liberal bias; the George W. Bush Foundation, which
supports the Bush library and museum; and the Heartland Institute, a leading promoter of climate-change denial.
Massing, Michael, ‘How to Cover the One Percent,’ The New
York Review, January 14, 2016, pp: 74-76.
