[WS:] Nonprofit employment and funding in national accounting, not foundations. And I pretty much agree with your view that nonprofits are just tax-exempt businesses, for the most part.
But you did not answer my argument - that right wingers were able to overcome the stifling effect of nonprofit culture and legal constraint son advocacy to a much greater degree than left wingers. It is difficult to blame the nonprofit culture for that difference - it must have something to do with left wingers themselves. Ravi had an excellent point that some of it is linked to the culture of individualism and celebrity cults that prevail in liberal and left circles. I would only add one more thing to it - most American liberals and lefties are not that radical after all - they are more happy with little pragmatic projects here and there than fundamentally changing the society. Those who seek radical changes are a tiny minority. That may provide a better explanation of the fragmented and minimalistic nature of left/liberal projects than the supposed effect of funding, which I think is quite small.
Wojtek
On Tue, Mar 29, 2011 at 1:37 PM, Doug Henwood <dhenwood at panix.com> wrote:
>
> On Mar 29, 2011, at 1:26 PM, Wojtek S wrote:
>
>> The point I am arguing is very much different - that foundation money
>> can be turned around to support radical causes. The fact that 501c3
>> cannot engage in advocacy does not prevent them from spinning out
>> 501c4 which can. This is quite common strategy in fact. An
>> organization has a "charitable" arm (eligible for tax exemptions,
>> public support etc.) registered as 501c3, and then an advocacy arm
>> registered under a different code. Or a labor union (501c5) can spin
>> off a charitable arm (501c3).
>>
>> The most important point here is to start projects which can engage
>> people in action - and foundations money can do that. Of course, this
>> is only the beginning of the process called "organizing" - further
>> steps may involve more and more advocacy that emerges form
>> collaboration of 501c3s and c4s - for example Progressive Maryland
>> http://www.progressivemaryland.org/page.php?id=192.
>
> As I recall, you study these guys. The Gina Neff piece I ran in LBO was written by someone who'd seen the receiving end. I've been watching these sorts of groups for 20 years. The activistism piece was also based on watching the recipients. You're forgetting that the foundations control the agenda with their funding, demand "deliverables," and foster competition among groups that should be working together.
>
> Doug
> ___________________________________
> http://mailman.lbo-talk.org/mailman/listinfo/lbo-talk
>