“Foundations are socially and politically significant, but this simple fact . . . has mostly been ignored by students of American history. . . . This collection represents an important contribution to an emerging field. It fills out some important dimensions of the history of the Ford Foundation . . . [and contributes] to our understanding of ‘social movement philanthropy’.” – Kenneth Prewitt, Social Science Research Council
Throughout the twentieth century, philanthropic foundations have played a variety of crucial roles in U.S. society. They have facilitated the development of ideas, provided important support to the arts, funded experimental programs in medicine, and helped spread American culture throughout the world. Despite that, until relatively recently, their history was known only superficially. Few scholars were interested and foundations themselves, having been the subjects of hostile Congressional investigations, were reluctant to open files to outsiders. As this book attests, things are now changing. The history of foundations is attracting scholars from across the social disciplines and constitutes some of the most interesting and productive research in history and the social sciences.
This book presents examples of cutting-edge work about foundations and their histories and offers the opportunity to ponder the problems and possibilities of foundation history. The essays in Part I speak directly to questions about the foundation as an organisation and its place in American society. Part II shifts the focus to foundations as actors in specific developments in American culture. Part III offers essays that move outward from foundations to reconstruct some of the ways foundations have contributed to a variety of social movements. Part IV focuses on foundation history and considers some of the problems and possibilities of this kind of research and writing.
Though the history of foundations is still largely uncharted, this volume takes some important strides into that terra incognito. It is sure to stimulate further work and, as importantly, encourage thoughtful conversations among scholars and foundation personnel that will enrich the historical study of foundations and enhance the possibilities for reflective philanthropy.
The contributors are Guy Alchon, Lucy Bernholz, Ruth Hutchinson Crocker, Peter Frumkin, Julia Grant, Abigail Halcli, Peter Dobkin Hall, David Hammack, Meg Jacobs, J. Craig Jenkins, Barry D. Karl, Susan Kastan, William S. McKersie, Richard Magat, Alice O’Connor, Susan Ostrander, Rosa Proietto, Gregory K. Raynor, and Elizabeth Toon.
Philanthropic Studies series – Robert L. Payton and Dwight F. Burlingame, editors