Foundations are having to fend off pressures to conform to the new philanthropic orthodoxies on race and identity issues.
Earlier this spring, a collection of unlikely bedfellows published a statement in the Chronicle of Philanthropy in support of what they call “Philanthropic Pluralism.” The heads of the left-wing Ford Foundation and Doris Duke Foundation, the libertarian group Stand Together, the conservative-leaning Templeton Foundation, as well as the head of the Council on Foundations and the Philanthropy Roundtable stood up in favor of the notion that “philanthropy provides the greatest value when donors enable and encourage pluralism by supporting and investing in a wide and diverse range of values, missions, and interests.”
As commendable as the sentiment may be, it does not address the most significant problems philanthropists and foundation leaders face when directing funds to programs and organizations that may diverge widely in their underlying principles and goals.
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James Piereson is a senior fellow at the Manhattan Institute. Naomi Schaefer Riley is a resident fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and a senior fellow at the Independent Women’s Forum.
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