PREFACE TO THE PAPERBACK EDITION

My ambition for this book has been to draw out, as fully as I could in a single volume, philanthropy’s special role in shaping the “American century,” both at home and abroad. In retracing the large and cumulative impact that private gifts have had on national affairs, I examine the ways philanthropic commitments have enlarged American democracy. They have not only been a powerful means of expanding knowledge, promoting social movements, and formulating public policy, they have also given Americans of diverse conditions a stronger voice in defining the common good.

I begin my account in the late nineteenth century as the growth of philanthropic institutions mirrored that of the United States’s increasing economic power and influence on the world scene. Participation in this expanded philanthropy, however, was never the exclusive domain of the wealthy as it is too often portrayed or imagined. Americans of modest means were actively involved too.

Philanthropy’s various components combined into a powerful mix of fiscally-privileged institutions (and procedures) that Americans of different ideological persuasions have since adapted to their strategies of social change. Wealthy donors created foundations to administer large gifts. They gave also a massive boost to the modern research university that orchestrated the reorganization of knowledge propelling the country’s ascent to world power. A few reformers engineered a silent, but still evolving, legal revolution that granted trustees the power of broadening donor intent by adjusting it to changing circumstances. At the same time, the emergence of a federated mass philanthropy, based on innovations in fundraising techniques, involved an ever greater part of the population in supporting the public good. World War I provided an added impetus to mass philanthropy and in particular marked a commitment to public health and humanitarian aid overseas, making philanthropy abroad both an adjunct and a challenge to the Pax Americana.

The federal government, with expanded revenue from the income tax, put in place a legal and regulatory structure to support philanthropy by granting all givers a fiscal exemption, the terms of which we are still arguing. The regulatory state and profit-driven capitalism became then the lasting partners of a heterogeneous philanthropic enterprise that rejuvenated voluntarism in America as large numbers of givers, reformers, volunteers, and recipients, acting in opposition as often as in concert, began promoting causes bigger than any of them had heretofore envisioned.

Not unlike a committed fundraiser who seeks to combine support from many different givers, I focus in this book on how philanthropic institutions overlap rather than attempt a specialized history of each kind. Organizations with similar sounding names come in an array of legal arrangements and operational structures. Thus a “foundation” typically offers grants, but some run their own programs as well. Some foundations are small, family affairs with limited funds, while others are large and wealthy impersonal organizations. Their reach is very different. The same heterogeneity characterizes public charities supported by multiple donors, whose divergent opinions in principle guarantee democratic debate over their activities. Some public charities, however, have only a few funders who are often related. The government grants public charities a fiscal status tolerant of political lobbying otherwise restricted in tax-exempt organizations. Rather than treating these institutions separately, my emphasis is on how they have joined to support large social movements, whether it be the legalization of birth control or the spread of evangelical Christianity.

I have meant to give a critical view of the ways the philanthropic system has intersected with government and influenced policy in the United States for more than a century. The government has had the difficult role of serving simultaneously as the regulator of philanthropy that has limited its political engagement and a partner in multi-level campaigns mobilizing the joint forces of state and civil society. This relationship with government has generated the most important ambiguity at the heart of the philanthropic enterprise. To fulfill their avowed mission of improving mankind, liberal and conservative philanthropic actors have time and again had to cross the regulatory line and engage in major political battles. I have therefore given ample voice to those who fought such philanthropic/political wars. I have shown that the many (not always well-intentioned) attempts to keep philanthropy away from politics have led only to maneuvers on the part of donors and recipients alike that have brought the art of equivocation to new altitudes.

I have selected case studies for their ability to illuminate long-term trends (such as the support for higher education) or to illustrate special turning points (the funding of the civil rights movement), and I have found the primary sources necessary to shed light on episodes insufficiently covered in existing monographs. Although I have singled out some actors at the expense of others (regrettably, but necessarily, omitting key figures in well-established fields), I have kept the lens throughout on legal and political conflicts, the interaction of private and public spheres, and prominent liberal and conservative influences vying to harness the power of philanthropy for their own ends.

I have deliberately avoided writing yet another piece of muckraking dedicated to exposing the underside of philanthropy—fiscal evasion, escape from democratic controls, justification for excessive inequality—that threatens the welfare of society. I have, however, recalled many such episodes as they are an integral part of the story. Some may think I am too lenient, but I have come to the judgment—I believe the record supports it—that philanthropy has made a positive contribution to democracy by promoting multiple additional channels of energy and voice in public matters.

Charlottesville, VA
September 2013