[lbo-talk] Slavoj Zizek: The Philanthropic Enemy

[Jim Devine]

for a group on the edge economically, it's not the average that
matters but the marginal. That 13% can be a matter of life and death
for an organization. The government bucks can also be that crucial.
Pulling either out could easily end an organization, so the leadership
and staff have to serve these two masters...

On 4/4/06, Wojtek Sokolowski <sokol at jhu.edu> wrote:
>
> > 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
>
>
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--
Jim Devine / "There can be no real individual freedom in the presence
of economic insecurity." -- Chester Bowles