K-12 Education
Blended Learning
Sometimes the best innovations are accidental. A small online tutoring project launched by Sal Khan in his spare time quickly turned into an online teaching sensation. The Khan Academy’s fast-growing digital library of free tutorials—covering everything from basic addition to advanced calculus, physics, chemistry, and biology—has become an invaluable resource for students of all ages. Now Khan is beginning to change the way students learn in traditional classrooms. With philanthropic support, he and his colleagues are integrating self-paced computerized tutorials with live instruction and daily computerized assessment in model schools. The results could revolutionize teaching.
Excellence in Philanthropy
Foundation Nation?
The rich history of American philanthropy has been oddly neglected over the years. Does Olivier Zunz’s new book fill the narrative gap? John Steele Gordon reviews “Philanthropy in America: A History” in the forthcoming Winter 2012 issue of Philanthropy magazine.
Events
2011 Annual Meeting Resources
Audio recordings from the 2011 Annual Meeting are now available. Visit this resource page to listen to sessions from our 20th Annual Meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona.
Philanthropic Freedom
Classic Readings
New pressures are building on philanthropic freedom. With these in mind, The Philanthropy Roundtable is assembling a library of relevant classic readings. These sketch the vital role private giving has always played in improving America—and outline private philanthropy’s continuing importance to the nation. We have selected these readings for their readability, intellectual significance, and timeliness, and edited them to be compact and to the point. Please continue to visit this resource library as it expands.
K-12 Education
Economic Payoffs from Real Educational Reform and Better Teaching
The potential gains to the U.S. from a better educational system are enormous. Even modest improvements in teacher quality and student test results will yield economic value that compounds, over a generation, into trillions of dollars. Economist Alex Tabarrok, author of a new e-book on the subject, lays out the evidence.
Philanthropic Freedom
A Free Society and a Good Society—We Can Have Both
When privately funded institutions are free to flourish and compete with government, citizens reap the benefits. In this selection from his book “Reclaiming the American Dream” Richard Cornuelle discusses the critical role of private foundations and individual givers in taking action for the public good.
Excellence in Philanthropy
The Milk Man
Nathan Straus is one of America’s great, and unjustly neglected, philanthropists. At the dawn of the 20th century, he spent down a fortune championing what is now a largely forgotten cause: safe milk. Though his efforts were resisted by the dairy industry and well-meaning elites, Straus persisted—and his efforts saved the lives of hundreds of thousands of children.
Excellence in Philanthropy
Market-Based Man
Our cover story is a profile of Charles G. Koch, winner of the 2011 William E. Simon Prize for Philanthropic Leadership. There is an essential unity to Mr. Koch's life, work, and philanthropy. All three are born of his trademarked business philosophy, Market-Based Management, which harnesses the forces that allow free markets to flourish and applies them to individual groups. Those principles have helped make Koch Industries the second-largest privately held corporation in America—and led to the creation of (among others) the Institute for Humane Studies, the Cato Institute, the Mercatus Center, Youth Entrepreneurs, the Bill of Rights Institute, and the Koch Associate Program. Read James K. Glassman's article on Mr. Koch here.
Excellence in Philanthropy
Resolved:
Robert Rosenkranz was frustrated by the echo chambers he found among people on both right and left. His idea: elevated, erudite debates between two evenly matched sides. The result: Intelligence Squared, a high-quality debate series in which the two sides try to persuade the audience—not grandstand for those who already agree with them.
Excellence in Philanthropy
A Federalist Solution
“The best money we ever spent.” That’s how Irving Kristol describes the original funding for the Federalist Society, the now three-decade-old organization for law students and lawyers. Today, donors are working to create three new organizations—in medicine, business, and national security—based on the same model.
Donor Intent
Outsmarting Albert Barnes
Albert Barnes managed to outsmart everyone—including himself. After years of controversy, the saga of the Barnes Foundation has come to an end, and the collection is being relocated to Philadelphia, leaving a cautionary tale behind in Merion. Dr. Barnes went to extravagant lengths to preserve his vision in perpetuity but never anticipated that the very defenses he put in place to preserve his collection would ultimately contribute to its undoing.
Guidebook — k 12 education
Saving America’s Urban Catholic Schools
Catholic schools nationwide—and especially in the inner cities—face a series of escalating challenges which continue to threaten their future viability. If these schools are to continue their mission of providing high-quality educational options for the families that need them most, urban Catholic schools will need strategic philanthropic support from donors of all faiths.
Entrepreneurship
Interview with Andrew Grove
Andrew Grove is angry with philanthropy, and he thinks other donors should be angrier too. The former CEO of Intel uses his anger to fuel his giving, and he recently spoke with ‘Philanthropy’ about his work in vocational education, American philanthropy—and other things that make him angry.
Guidebook — philanthropic freedom
How Public is Private Philanthropy?
Should private funds be treated as “public money”? The unique strength of American philanthropy is found in our freedom to identify a societal need and dedicate personal time, treasure, and talent to addressing it. Today, however, a new set of challenges confronts American philanthropy as activists, legislators, and policymakers are claiming governmental authority to regulate the activities of American philanthropists.
Donor Intent
Preserving Donor Intent
The Philanthropy Roundtable is committed to preserving, strengthening, and celebrating the principle of donor intent. We believe that respect for donor intent is essential to philanthropic integrity. All voluntary giving is based on an act of trust, the shared understanding that the gift will be disbursed in a mutually acceptable fashion. If that trust is compromised, it undermines the very condition that makes philanthropy possible. Read more about our commitment to preserving donor intent here.
