> No, but there's no denying that the dependence of so many
> activist groups on foundation funding has a conservatizing
> and fragmenting effect - and one that leads to loyalty to
> program officers before loyalty to constituents.
>
> Doug
What dependence? Private philanthropy - of which foundation money is only a small part, as most of it is direct individual giving - is a negligible part of nonprofit finances - on average about 13% in the US and half that (about 7%) in Europe. http://www.jhu.edu/~cnp/compdata.html
This whole brouhaha about the significance of private philanthropy - either positive and benevolent as right wingers maintain, or negative and corrupting as campus radicals knee-jerk react - is basically a big myth, a diversion. Nonprofits, including advocacy groups, could not survive without government money, but they would manage, on average, without foundation money.
Wojtek