The world of the golden donors-the rich and influential
philanthropic foundations-is quite likely the least known and yet
most pervasive of all the invisible money and power networks in
America. Nielsen explores the 36 largest of the 22,000 currently
active foundations. He takes the reader inside each of the giants
to analyze its people, policies, and performance. From the most
famous, Ford and MacArthur, to the most obscure, Mabee and Moody,
the author lets in daylight and lets out the bats as well as the
butterflies. "Golden Donors" is a journey through 36 fiefdoms, each
of which controls upwards of $250 million dollars, beyond the reach
of the IRS, in order to encourage medical research, support
cultural and artistic endeavors, and not least, to buttress
immensely expensive educational institutions. Which of the great
foundations in recent years have been spectacular successes and
which are failures? Is today's leadership in the third-stream
economy equal to the task? Are foundations, seedbeds or killing
grounds of new social and political ideas? And what is the federal
government, and a variety of administrations, doing to help or harm
this new economy? Nielsen provides many surprising and some quite
startling answers for the millions of Americans whose lives the
golden donors directly or indirectly affect. When "Golden Donors"
first appeared, A. Bartlett Giamatti praised it as an historical
guide, a shrewd critique, and an impassioned warning. "This
remarkable book on the nation's largest foundations must be read by
anyone concerned with America's unique not-for-profit sector and
the quality of our national life." Kingman Brewster saw the book as
"a revealing mirror held up to the faces of big philanthropy...a
must book for foundation creators and leaders." Thornton F.
Bradsahw said, ""Golden Donors" describes the large American
foundations, what they are how they got that way, and wherein lies
their strength and their potential. The book is wise, witty, and
perceptive-indispensable reading." Waldemar A. Nielsen was born in
Pennsylvania, educated in Missouri and was a Rhodes Scholar at
Oxford University. He served as a naval officer, diplomat, expert
on Africa, foundation officer and trustee, and foreign affairs
analyst. He has written for "The New Yorker, Harper's," and other
publications. A leading counselor on philanthropy policy, Nielsen
has advised a number of present and former clients, including John
D. Rockefeller 3rd, J. Paul Getty, and Robert O. Anderson, as well
as major corporations and foundations.
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