Karl Zinsmeister

Vice President of Publications

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Karl Zinsmeister directs an energetic publishing program at The Philanthropy Roundtable in Washington, D.C. His 2016 creation, The Almanac of American Philanthropy, is the 1,342-page culmination of a multiyear effort to create the authoritative reference on America's fascinating and culturally seminal tradition of solving public problems with private resources. In 2017 he created a Compact Edition of the Almanac. His 2016 book What Comes Next? How private givers can rescue America in an era of political frustration, offers a vision for constructive culture change, working around electoral gridlock. Zinsmeister created the "Sweet Charity" podcast (less-than-ten-minute stories about remarkable achievements in giving), available at the Apple Store or PhilanthropyRoundtable.org/media. He also founded and advises the Roundtable’s program on philanthropy for veterans and military servicemembers. Karl has authored 13 books, including two different works of embedded reporting on the Iraq war, a book on charter schools, a storytelling cookbook, even a graphic novel published by Marvel Comics. He has also made a PBS feature film and written hundreds of articles for publications ranging from the Atlantic to the Wall Street Journal. Earlier in his career he was a Senate aide to Daniel Patrick Moynihan, the J. B. Fuqua Fellow at the American Enterprise Institute, and editor in chief for nearly 13 years of The American Enterprise magazine. From 2006 to 2009 Karl served in the West Wing as the President's chief domestic policy adviser and director of the White House Domestic Policy Council. He is a graduate of Yale University and also studied at Trinity College Dublin.

Roundtable articles and books by Karl Zinsmeister:

• 2017 Compact Edition of the Almanac of American Philanthropy
• Privacy as a Philanthropic Pillar
• Some People Love to Call Names
• Rescuing America in an Era of Political Frustration
• What Comes Next? How private givers can rescue America in an era of political frustration
• Founding Funders
• Freedom and Philanthropy, National Affairs 
• The Power of Science Philanthropy
• How Philanthropy Bolsters Capitalism, City Journal
• 12 Common Criticisms of Philanthropy—and Some Answers, Stanford Social Innovation Review
• Charitable Giving in America, Imprimis 
• The Almanac of American Philanthropy
• How Philanthropy Fuels American Success
• The Catholic School Revival
• Alfred Loomis profile
• George Eastman profile
• Oseola McCarty profile
• Julius Rosenwald profile
• Donors Who Come to the Aid of Their Country
• Changing Hearts, Minds, and Laws
• Agenda Setting: A Wise Giver's Guide to Influencing Public Policy 
• From Promising to Proven: A Wise Giver's Guide to Expanding on the Success of Charter Schools
• Wall Street Journal essay on charter schools
• Wall Street Journal essay on Catholic schools
• RealClearPolitics essay on philanthropy’s role in civil rights
• Giving Benefits the Giver, Huffington Post
• Ideas: From Promising to Proven
• Introduction to a Road Trip Across Philanthropic America
• DoNation
• Spartan Donors
• Unto the Nations