Wednesday, August 10, 2016
Ford Foundation and Leading Thinkers Discuss A New Gospel of Philanthropy
How should philanthropy consider the tension between its maker and its mission? In many cases, foundations wish to solve social problems like extreme poverty and hunger — but acquire their resources through forces that have arguably helped create those very problems. Can philanthropy get past this contradiction? How?
Last week on The Development Set, we brought together several leading thinkers to explore these questions in a wide-ranging discussion. Leah Hunt-Hendrix and Jee Kim of the Ford Foundation opened the floor by describing philanthropy’s fundamental contradiction — and reminded readers of a keen insight from Martin Luther King, Jr.:
“Philanthropy is commendable, but it must not cause the philanthropist to overlook the circumstances of economic injustice which make philanthropy necessary.”