PHILANTHROPY: THE POWERS OF MONEY

This course is designed to enable graduate students and upper-level undergraduates to deepen their understanding of philanthropy and its distinctive—and important—role in American society. We will cover its history, cultural origins, influence on social policy, interactions with government, how foundations work (and don’t work), strategy formulation and execution, and the issues foundations face in maintaining legitimacy and efficacy. This is not an introductory course, and familiarity with the social sector is required for registration. The course will be broken into three Parts: the first, providing some background and history; the second, focusing on philanthropy’s current operational realities; the third, looking at where philanthropy may be going. Students will write two papers, the second of which will describe the creation of a first-rank foundation established to solve, as much as possible, a critical social sector issue.