FOUNDATIONS’ NICHE IN PHILANTHROPY

Following up on the March 11 (dkj) post “Fleishman On The Market Impact of Private Foundations”, I want to draw readers’ attentions to a study done by the Development Assistance Committee of the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD) in 2003, entitled “Philanthropic Foundations and Development Cooperation,” which supports the March 11 post’s contention that the true value-added of foundations is their capacity to fund long term, experimental innovations in the social sector.  The study found that foundations’ most effective  interventions in international development have been in long-term investments that were  based on vision and sound  scientific understanding  and well-integrated with local capacities (citing examples in the areas of infectious disease control, family planning and agriculture).  The study also noted that foundations are increasingly involved in public-private partnerships.  It calls upon OECD members* to (i) improve information exchange between their national aid agencies and foundations so as to further the potential for such partnerships; and (ii) to afford foundations “appropriate fiscal encouragement” of their activities to maximize their contributions to development.  The study outlines the main types and typical life cycles of foundations and reviews international grant making activity by American, European and Asian foundations.

*OECD members include the US, UK, Austria, Belgium, Canada,Denmark, France,Germany,Greece, Iceland, Italy, Ireland, Luxembourg, the Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain,Sweden,Switzerland,Turkey, New Zealand, Australia, Japan, Mexico, the Czech Republic, Hungary, Poland, Korea and the Slovak Republic.

ss