by Evan Sparks
From Philanthropy magazine, Spring 2012
It is remarkable that, in survey after survey, at least 10 of the world’s 20 best universities bear the names of private American citizens who have used their wealth to create world-class institutions of higher learning. Private, voluntary support has long been a source of great strength for American higher education. In our Spring 2012 cover story, managing editor Evan Sparks highlights three donors and the universities they recently created: the F. W. Olin College of Engineering, Ave Maria University, and Harrisburg University of Science and Technology.
by James K. Glassman
From Philanthropy magazine, Fall 2011
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.
by Myron Magnet
From Philanthropy magazine, Summer 2010
Richard Gilder invests fearlessly. It’s how he built his fortune—and how he’s giving it away. When Central Park was a penny stock, he went long. When nonprofits underperformed, he took over and turned them around. And when he couldn’t find an organization that excelled at promoting the study and love of American history, he built one.
by Bret Stephens
From Philanthropy magazine, Fall 2010
Meet Roger Hertog, winner of the 2010 William E. Simon Prize for Philanthropic Leadership. A pioneer in the investment research industry, Hertog now funds think tanks, journals, summer programs, university centers, historical inquiry, and investigations into Jewish thought. As a believer in the power of ideas, he describes his philanthropic approach as “a supply-side vision of intellectual capitalism.”
by David Tell
From Philanthropy magazine, Winter 1997
Whenever the other side scores in the game of ideas that is American public life, each team’s loyalists complain about the rules and referees. Sometimes they have a point. More often,...
by Alan Reynolds
From Philanthropy magazine, Winter 1997
Announcing its four-hundred wealthiest Americans for 1996, Forbes was unrestrained in its excitement about the transformation that has occurred in the nature of wealth creation in America....
by James F.X. O'Gara
From Philanthropy magazine, Winter 1997
Wisconsin public television organizes a health care debate in a courtroom — elected officials are placed on trial, while selected citizens sit in the jury box. The San Francisco Chronicle...
From Philanthropy magazine, Spring 1997
One of the best attended sessions at the recent Council on Foundations annual meeting in Hawaii was the one at which Sally Covington of the National Committee For Responsive Philanthropy...
by James V. Capua
From Philanthropy magazine, Spring 1997
Lisa Lehr, a resident of New York City’s historically liberal Upper West Side, became a community activist when a mentally ill street person known as the “Wild Man of 96th Street” smashed a...
From Philanthropy magazine, Spring 1997
Most of the major tax system overhaul proposals introduced in the reform-minded 104th Congress have been reintroduced in the current session. The Council on Foundations and Independent Sector...
by James F. X. O'Gara
From Philanthropy magazine, Spring 1997
Meet David Smydra, the face of the “new paradigm” in foundation grantmaking. He is an employee of the city of Detroit, but his office was created and initially funded by a consortium of...
by Lamar Alexander
From Philanthropy magazine, Summer 1997
While no one can help but be impressed by the generosity of the American people-donors of some $140 billion dollars and untold hours of volunteer time in 1996-charity today suffers from an...
by Steve Tappan
From Philanthropy magazine, Summer 1997
Kevin Johnson was a ten year old growing up in Oak Park, a rough-edged subdivision of Sacramento, CA, when a burglar made off with a local family’s unopened gifts one Christmas Eve. After...
From Philanthropy magazine, Fall 1997
On August 5, 1997, President Clinton signed into law the Taxpayer Relief Act of 1997, prompting intense debate over the merits of capital gains tax cuts and the $500-per-child tax credit. In...
by James F.X. O'Gara
From Philanthropy magazine, Fall 1997
As political analysts debate whether the trend toward devolution — shifting government dollars and responsibility for social programs closer to local communities — is losing momentum, one...