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country primarily located in North America

  • Civics Education Programs Making a Difference This Constitution Day

    As we approach Constitution Day, it’s worth exploring whether educators are prepared to teach students about the Constitution and its history in a manner that is accurate, effective and engaging. While it may not be widely known, numerous organizations spend their summers offering workshops and institutes to equip teachers with the resources to teach civics and American history during the school year.  

    This effort should not go unnoticed, because civics, when effectively taught, promotes and preserves good citizenship. As teachers and students get back to work this fall in earnest, here’s a look back at some organizations that worked with educators over their break to ensure they’re well prepared to teach this important subject:   

    Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge (FFVF) hosted nearly 250 teachers across the United States this summer for one of their five week-long teacher programs and one traveling workshop. Their special guests and speakers included eminent scholars such as CherylAnne Amendola, Frederick Douglass descendant Kevin Douglass Greene, Dr. Joe Fornieri, Dr. Allen Guelzo, Mae Krier and Stephanie Townrow. Seminar topics included “Frederick Douglass: Legacy and Impact,” “Constitutional History,” “American Revolution South (Traveling Workshop),” “Medal of Honor Legacy: Cold War,” “Women in American History” and “Abraham Lincoln and His America.” 

    Over the past 50 years, nearly 14,000 educators from around the world have enriched their knowledge and their classrooms through FFVF’s critically acclaimed and accredited seminars. 

    The George Washington Teacher Institute Summer Residential Program at Mount Vernon offers educators an opportunity to attend a five-day immersive professional development program to learn more about George Washington and the 18th century world he lived in. Their format, with a different thematic focus for each program, allows educators to explore an 18th century subject that is most relevant to their classrooms. Participants learn from a variety of visiting and estate experts about how to bring the first president and his world to their 21st century students.  

    Topics in 2023 included “Martha Washington and the Women of the 18th Century,” “The Great Experiment: George Washington and the Founding of the U.S. Government,” “Slavery in George Washington’s World,” “George Washington at War: From Soldier to Commander in Chief,” “George Washington and the Economy of a New Nation” and “Leadership and Legacy: Lessons from George Washington.” 

    At the Gilder Lehrman Institute of American History  (GLI), educators can choose from a variety of in-person and virtual summer professional development opportunities. These include 12 online teacher seminars, including “The Making of America,” a two-week National Endowment for the Humanities summer institute; The Gilder Lehrman Teacher Symposium, a five-day program at Gettysburg College “Statesmanship in American History,” hosted and funded by the James Madison Program in American Ideals and Institutions at Princeton University; “Reframing Lincoln Seminar: Myth, Memory,” “Changing Narratives; United States Foreign Policy, 1898 to Present” and “The Making of America: Colonial Era to Reconstruction.” 

    The National Constitution Center (NCC), located in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, offers in-person and online resources to educators across the country and “serves as America’s leading platform for constitutional education and debate.” It hosts over 160 educators from across the country for its series of summer institutes, which bring together top educators and ideologically diverse constitutional scholars.  

    Over the course of week-long in-person sessions and three-day virtual sessions, participants work with content experts during these programs to deepen their knowledge of constitutional topics and their historical contexts and modern understandings. During the summer institutes, educators discover and develop ways to make content relevant to their students. Educators leave having gained new content knowledge, teaching tools, classroom-ready resources and skills for improving constitutional literacy. 

    NCC’s approach has three main components: (1) building a historical foundation through storytelling of the Constitution’s founding and exploring how courts have interpreted it over time; (2) learning how to interpret the Constitution like a constitutional lawyer by asking what the government constitutionally may not do, not what it should do and (3) developing the skills of civil dialogue and reflection. Programs are open to educators working with grades 5 – 12 at public, charter, independent, parochial and other schools. Topics in 2023 included “Constitutional Conversations and Civil Dialogue” and “Principles of the American Revolution.” 

    The Jack Miller Center (JMC) has continued to grow its resources for K-12 teachers, offering 24 teacher education programs across nine states this summer, which included graduate courses in Illinois and Massachusetts, symposiums in Florida and Wisconsin, a summer institute in Texas and workshops in Virginia. JMC’s faculty partners covered topics such as the American Revolution, Alexis de Tocqueville, the First Amendment and Frederick Douglass. See this comprehensive list of the Summer 2023 seminars to learn more about the topics covered, locations (frequently university campuses) and faculty who partnered with JMC.  

    Due to the generosity of donors, FFVF, GLI, NCC and JMC all provide scholarships to participants to remove the financial barriers of attendance. All these programs adjust their offerings each year to ensure they provide content that is particularly relevant to the needs of educators and their classrooms. They are currently in the process of making these adjustments for next year, so announcements of Summer 2024 offerings are imminent.  

     The vital work of these civics organizations does not stop when the school year begins. They continue to provide support to educators through lesson plans, weekend workshops, online seminars and even MA programs during the year. If you walk into a classroom and see an educator effectively and engagingly teaching civics, you may learn their approach was impacted by one of these programs, many of which are hoping to reach more teachers in the critical effort to prepare the next generation of citizens. 

    If you are interested in learning more about these initiatives, please contact the Programs team at programs@philanthropyroundtable.org. 

  • Doers to Donors: Hilda Ochoa-Brillembourg Helps Transform the Lives of Young Musicians

    In the latest episode of Philanthropy Roundtable’s interview series “Doers to Donors,” Roundtable President and CEO Christie Herrera sat down with entrepreneur, author and philanthropist Hilda Ochoa-Brillembourg. Ochoa-Brillembourg is the chairman emeritus and founder of Strategic Investment Group, an independent investment management firm based in Arlington, Virginia. She also is chairman and founder of The Orchestra of the Americas Group, which has helped train talented musicians from around the globe for careers in world-class orchestras.  

    This wide-ranging discussion focused on Ochoa-Brillembourg’s journey as a Venezuelan immigrant to the United States, her work managing an international portfolio of global financial assets and her passion for philanthropy, particularly for the arts. Ochoa-Brillembourg, who detailed Venezuela’s economic collapse, also offered a warning for those in this country to not fall prey to the lures of socialism. 

    Following are some highlights of this interview, which can be viewed in full here:  

    Why Ochoa-Brillembourg Says Managing Assets is a “Noble” Profession  

    Ochoa-Brillembourg, a Harvard University graduate, began her career in the United States managing pension funds at the World Bank. But after a decade as the chief investment officer within the bank’s Pension Investment Division, she decided to strike out on her own.  

    “I actually established a manner of managing pension assets that turned out to be very successful and uniquely successful,” she said. “I developed a business plan. I spent three years marketing that business plan.”  

    That led to the founding of Strategic Investment Group in 1987 and a career she credits with creating financial certainty for those whose assets she managed.  

     “We all have very uncertain futures,” Ochoa-Brillembourg said. “[And] if we have no savings, we have no way to plan our futures.”  

    At Strategic Investment Group, she sought to reduce the uncertainty people feel about their finances by managing their money to produce the highest returns.   

    “Managing people’s assets is probably one of the most noble professions you can have,” she said.  

    “I’ve allowed hospitals to create an incredible cancer ward because of the excess returns we produced.” 


    How The Orchestra of the Americas Group is Changing Lives 

    Beyond the rewards of her career, Ochoa-Brillembourg has found fulfillment through her philanthropic work, most notably her involvement with The Orchestra of the Americas Group (OA Group). 

    The OA Group is a “Grammy-winning symphony orchestra that trains, empowers and presents top-rising talents of the Western Hemisphere and beyond in semi-annual flagship residences around the world.” Recently, it has taken on two additional missions, offering an online music conservatory that bridges the “gap between local and opportunity” and the world’s first MBA in Arts Innovation, co-curated by top universities including Harvard, Stanford, Georgetown and Duke.  

    Ochoa-Brillembourg says the conservatory is attracting some of the top performers in the world as teachers, including renowned cellist Yo-Yo Ma, and giving talented musicians, many from disadvantaged backgrounds, the opportunity to make connections that lead to careers with world-class orchestras.   

    “We have testimonies of all of our graduates that we have changed their lives. I mean, thousands of testimonies that we have changed their lives and why,” she said.  

    One of the most notable success stories is that of Gustavo Dudamel, a Venezuelan conductor currently serving as music and artistic director of the Los Angeles Philharmonic and music director of the Simon Bolivar Symphony Orchestra. 

    “We identified him as an extraordinary young conductor in our first tour of the orchestra in 2002,” she said. “We were the first time that he was taken on an international tour and performed all over Latin America and the United States.”  

    In addition to the impact of the orchestra on its young musicians, Ochoa-Brillembourg says her philanthropic involvement with the OA Group has also changed her life.  

    “It is a transformation,” she said. “It opens up your heart, your mind, your soul, your creativity, your spirit. It gives you a sense of the immense opportunities that life brings.” 

    Read more about Ochoa-Brillembourg and the OA Group in our Philanthropy Magazine article, “Beethoven in the Barrio.”  


    A “Cautionary Tale” for America 

    Ochoa-Brillembourg’s discussion with Herrera also turned to her experience with life in a socialist regime.  

    “Caracas is a very special place. It was a very special place to grow up for various reasons,” Ochoa-Brillembourg said. 

    Now though, she says the ongoing economic and political crisis in Venezuela has led to the collapse of the private sector and a “band of criminals is ruining the country.” The humanitarian emergency began during the presidency of Hugo Chavez and has since worsened, leaving millions of people without access to needs like basic health care and safe water.  

    Ochoa-Brillembourg says it should serve as a warning to Americans to safeguard their democracy. 

    “I have never met a socialist who didn’t want to take other people’s money for themselves,” she said. “What’s happened in Venezuela, they have stolen us blind. And it’s what’s happening in China … and what has happened in Russia. Corruption in a socialist regime is extraordinarily more rampant than in a democracy.” 

    It concerns her that Americans, particularly on college campuses, have “lost” the freedom to “disagree and … to argue and reach some form of agreement or middle point,” things that are integral to a democracy.  

    “But we’ll find our way eventually, I do believe,” she said.  

    Learn more about “Doers to Donors” and watch the full interview featuring Hilda Ochoa-Brillembourg here or listen to the podcast on Apple, Google or Spotify. Subscribe to the Roundtable’s YouTube channel to make sure you don’t miss future episodes.  

  • This Labor Day, Pioneer Institute Highlights Importance of Vocational Training

    As Americans celebrate the achievements of our nation’s workers this Labor Day, Philanthropy Roundtable is proud to support organizations that eliminate barriers to upward mobility, expand opportunity and reward hard work. I recently sat down with Jim Stergios, executive director of Pioneer Institute, a think tank that envisions a nation where people can prosper and society can thrive because of “world-class options in education, health care, transportation and economic opportunity, and where our government is limited, accountable and transparent.” 

    The interview below has been edited for length and clarity. 

    Q: You lead Pioneer Institute (PI), a Massachusetts-based public policy think tank that concentrates on education, health care and economic opportunity. What is your mission and what role do you play in the broader public policy landscape? 

    Stergios: Pioneer’s mission is to advance innovation across multiple states in education, health care and economic opportunity through best-in-class research, advocacy and legal action.  

    Our education team works in multiple states with the goal of preparing students to be good citizens and economically successful. Our strategic focus is on innovations, especially the expansion of public (charter and vocational-technical) and private school choices, not on fixing broken public systems.  

    Our health care strategy focuses on the life sciences. In the last half century, the U.S. shed 40% of its hospital beds, largely because of the rise in outpatient care made possible by massive medical advances. Our life sciences team works in seven states and Washington, D.C., to promote transparent pricing, fend off price controls and expand adoption of pricing strategies that will make cutting-edge treatments more affordable.  

    On economic opportunity, we run on dual tracks, defending Massachusetts’s economic competitiveness and piloting in several states, for now, a program on the catalytic role of immigrant entrepreneurs in the U.S. economy as a way of building an understanding of capitalism. 


    Q: Over the last 30 years, PI has focused on policies that expand opportunities for all people. Where do you see the biggest opening for making gains in this area?  

    Stergios: In these increasingly politically charged times, organizations must focus on research, partnerships and legal strategies. That’s why we started the Pioneer Public Interest Law Center. Its job is to create precedents that will have immediate and lasting impact. Currently, it is focused on equal treatment for special needs students in private schools, enforcement of state obligations to teach U.S. history and civics, and the defense of immigrant entrepreneurs harmed by unnecessary government regulations. 

    Pioneer has seen significant progress in recent years, in Supreme Court cases like Espinoza v. Montana Department of Revenue, where our amicus brief was cited in Justice Alito’s concurring opinion, and Carson v. Makin. Since these decisions, Pioneer’s research and advocacy on the ground in 10 states assisted local activists in securing legislation expanding choice.  


    Q:  While vocational training in schools has fallen out of favor over the last several years, you have focused on it quite a bit, authoring a book on this issue called “Hands-On Achievement: Massachusetts’s National Model Vocational-Technical Schools.” Why have you focused on this topic? 

    Stergios: Education reformers usually focus on either charter or private school choice. Massachusetts vocational-technical schools are public schools of choice that were ignored for too long. The commonwealth’s 1993 Education Reform Act required vocational-technical students to pass the same tests as their peers in other public schools to earn a diploma. That, along with a system in which students alternate weekly between academic and vocational education, has created a network of schools that outperform the state’s comprehensive high schools, ensure that students graduate with strong work skills and credentials, and have dropout rates a third of the statewide average.  

    That is especially impressive because Massachusetts’s vocational-technical schools educate more special needs and low-income students than other public schools. No state has gotten vocational-technical education right the way Massachusetts has. These graduates have a choice of pursuing further education or entering jobs that offer family-sustaining wages—without college and the debt that often accompanies it. Importantly, expanding stronger vocational programs in other states will address labor shortages in the trades and technology manufacturing and services sectors. 


    Q:  How have your strategic partnerships helped PI expand vocational and technical school efforts outside of Massachusetts?   

    Stergios: Pioneer is partnering widely to extend the impact of our vocational-technical school work. Through our longstanding partnership with the Massachusetts Association of Vocational Administrators, we were able to connect with national industry organizations such as SkillsUSA and Advance CTE.  Working through our chambers of commerce, we developed contacts with peers in our target states (Kentucky, New Hampshire, Ohio, Oklahoma, Tennessee and Texas). Employers we’ve connected with understand the deficiencies in federally funded workforce development programs. Finally, we work with State Policy Network affiliates to disseminate our work nationally. 

    Pioneer also has hosted webinars on “Hands-On Achievement,” garnering over 14,000 views in our target states, California, Florida, New York and Washington. The book generated national print articles in outlets like The Washington Post, The Washington Times, IndustryWeek, Public News Service, radio coverage, media attention in target states and think tank podcasts and articles. Our mini-documentary, “Training Our Future Workforce: Voc-Tech Success,” was watched over 84,000 times. 


    Q:  The recent Supreme Court decision ending affirmative action in higher education will impact students throughout the country. Why is focusing on K-12 education important in creating opportunities for all students?   
     
    Stergios: Our focus remains on K-12. Much of the racial tension generated by affirmative action results from the failure of our monolithic public schools. Affirmative action in higher education admissions is itself a clear indictment of the success of America’s public K-12 schools. If traditional public schools were doing their job, such an “end of pipe” workaround would never have been necessary. This is, in part, why the vocational-technical model is vitally important. We need more K-12 models that bridge achievement gaps.  


    Q:  What are the ongoing challenges or pitfalls for PI and organizations like yours that aim to address expanding opportunity through education? How are you tackling these issues?   
     
    Stergios: I’m very hopeful about education. In 2000, few would have believed that by 2023, district schools in the U.S. would lose 10% of their market share, as measured by enrollment, to charters and private education models. Instead of responding by improving the product, the two national teachers’ unions are doubling down on divisive, self-serving rhetoric.  

    Pioneer is part of a group of organizations supporting change in states where that is possible. Only the threat of even greater losses in market share will force traditional public schools to change direction and focus on providing educational opportunity to all students. 

     For more information about this organization or others providing Pathways to Opportunity, reach out to Philanthropy Roundtable Program Director Erica Haines.  

  • Denisha Allen (Merriweather) on Why Black Minds Matter


    Philanthropy Roundtable recently sat down with Denisha Allen (Merriweather), founder of Black Minds Matter, a “national movement to celebrate Black minds, support excellence and promote the development of high-quality school options for Black students.” Allen, an American Federation for Children senior fellow, is a champion for school choice and a Florida tax-credit scholarship recipient. Through Black Minds Matter, she hopes to help provide access to an excellent education for every Black student. 

    The interview below has been edited for length and clarity.  

    Q: You founded Black Minds Matter, a project of the American Federation for Children Growth Fund (AFC), in 2020, a time when many Americans were seeking to address social injustices in our country. What led you to create this organization and what role does it serve? 

    Allen: I came to AFC after working at the U.S. Department of Education with Secretary DeVos. I worked with the Trump administration for two years, and then came to AFC as a director of Family Engagement. Then, in 2020, I wrote an op-ed in Real Clear Education about my frustrations in the aftermath of George Floyd’s murder. Our country was in civil unrest, maybe even the whole world was in civil unrest, and people were looking for ways to challenge racism. I wanted to bring attention to areas that would help Black America attain empowerment and excellence in all aspects of life. And, to me, that meant focusing on education. When I looked at the data, I saw that Black students are not reading on grade level or graduating from high school at the same rates as their white and Asian counterparts. I wanted to focus on changing that.  

    Unfortunately, at that moment in the national conversation, there was not a widespread initiative from the Black Lives Matter movement to talk about education and education reform. So, I coined the term Black Minds Matter to highlight that we need to focus on education freedom. We received a tremendous amount of support for what we stood for. And I’m proud that one of our first initiatives was to bring together a network of Black school founders. This was very personal for me because I went to a Black-founded school, and I benefited directly from the school choice movement.   

    Our mission is to nourish Black students with a rich education of their parents’ choice by any means necessary. Our goal is to expand our reach by engaging new audiences. This includes both Republican and Democratic elected officials, HBCU’s and our growing Black Founders Network. We are also committed to expanding our visibility through high quality content that can also be used to generate revenue for our work.  

    Lastly, we want to bring awareness about education freedom to the communities where Black students are most likely to be relegated to poor performing public schools. We have over 430 Black-founded schools in our online directory at www.BlackMindsMatter.net, and 150 Black school founders in our network. We were thrilled to have many of them in attendance at our second annual Black Minds Matter Summit in Washington, D.C., earlier this year.  

    Q: Can you tell us more about your personal connection to the work you are doing? 

    Allen: I went to a private school in Jacksonville, Florida, on scholarship from sixth grade onward. I failed the third grade twice because I couldn’t read. As you can imagine, I had very low self-esteem, and I was lashing out by starting physical fights. My life trajectory was going in the same direction as many of the people in my family who had all dropped out of school. When I switched schools, I went from getting F’s and D’s to getting straight A’s.  When I founded Black Minds Matter, I saw the opportunity to highlight Black-owned schools as a part of that narrative, since school choice had such a transformative impact on my own life. 

    Q: Your website says that nourishing Black minds with a rich education is the first step to breaking generational poverty and societal inequities. What do you mean by societal inequities, and how does education combat this problem? 

    Allen: In America, there’s a class issue and there are a race issues, and sometimes those issues get intermingled and intertwined. But, at the root of both of those conversations is our education system. And the data shows that Black and brown students are performing the worst academically in this country. Just to give you an example, the NWEA just came out with a new study that follows in the same vein as recent NAEP [The Nation’s Report Card] scores. They said students on the whole will need three to four months of additional schooling in order to catch up from recent learning loss.  

    Shockingly, they found Black students will need two additional months to catch up. So, you’re telling me that Black students will need five to six months of additional schooling to make up for learning loss. When the system is pumping out hundreds of thousands of Black students who can’t read or do math into society, they end up in the criminal justice system. We call it the school-to-prison-pipeline. That is a societal inequity. That’s a civil rights issue. Black kids are not able to read. We need to change that. 

    When we look at education in America, we need to ensure that no kid is relegated to poor performing or failing schools because of where they live. Students in poorer neighborhoods are not receiving the same education as students who are going to schools where almost 90% of parents own their homes. We can solve this socio-economic/racial problem if we can create a market where competition is going to create incentives that perform better for students. Education freedom allows parents to choose the best school for their child regardless of school type. I sit on the board for Step Up For Students in Florida – the largest school choice program in the country. In Florida, we’ve seen academic outcomes for students in traditional public schools increase with every expansion of the state’s scholarship program. That’s because everyone is competing for students.  

    Q: Our 2021 Simon-DeVos Prize Winner Bill Oberndorf, chairman of the board of the American Federation for Children, has called access to education the civil rights issue of our time. Do you agree, and if so, why is that the case? 

    Allen: I absolutely do. It is the civil rights issue of our time. One of the goals of Black Minds Matter is to help the public see that school choice and education freedom are a part of the longer struggle for freedom in the United States and have deep historical roots. The conversation has been led by policy folks for so long, which is important. But I really want to make it more approachable and accessible to everyone. When we talk about the history of freedom in America, it is inextricably tied to access to education, from slavery through the Antebellum period all the way up to today. The struggle has always been access to education.  

    One of the ways we are working to showcase the connection between freedom and education is by conducting exhibits that illustrate the extent to which slaves wanted to read. One part of our exhibit showcases findings from archaeologists who found “pit schools” or deep holes in the ground where they also found tablets and pencils for writing. The slaves understood that their freedom was rooted in the ability to read and write, and they risked their lives to try to attain those skills. I always like to say there is freedom of the body and also of the mind, and that has always been the goal of African Americans in this country. They have never been divorced from one another. 

    Q: The recent Supreme Court decision ending affirmative action in higher education could impact students throughout the country. How do you feel about this decision and why? 
     
    Allen: I think it’s going to be very obvious that we need better options for Black students, and this decision makes that clearer. Black kids are not reading on grade level and removing affirmative action in higher education means Black kids will have to perform even better academically to be accepted into colleges and universities.   

    Q: As you look ahead, what are you most excited about for Black Minds Matter? 

    Allen: I’m always very excited about the Black School Founders network. They are amazing, so to be able to support them and champion the work they do for students is very rewarding. Many of them have models that are worthy of replication. We are going to focus on capacity building and finding ways to support them. I’m also very excited to get more involved in states and districts with the worst academic and life outcomes for Black and brown students, and to advocate for better outcomes in the lowest performing districts in the country. For example, I get excited when I think about a city like Baltimore, where reading and math levels are abysmal. The creation of education savings accounts in that city will help students access better choices. Through projects like this, we are going to close the achievement gap.   

    For more information about this organization or others providing Pathways to Opportunity, reach out to Philanthropy Roundtable Program Director Erica Haines.

  • True Diversity Advocates Respond to Supreme Court Affirmative Action Decisions

    In 6-3 and 6-2 rulings, the U.S. Supreme Court struck down the use of race-based preferences in college admissions, writing “The Harvard and UNC admissions programs cannot be reconciled with the guarantees of the Equal Protection Clause.” 

    President of Students for Fair Admissions Edward Blum, the organization that filed the lawsuits, applauded the ruling, saying, “The polarizing, stigmatizing and unfair jurisprudence that allowed colleges and universities to use a student’s race and ethnicity as a factor to admit or reject them has been overruled. These discriminatory admission practices undermined the integrity of our country’s civil rights laws.” 

    The Roundtable compiled reactions from our True Diversity partners, who signed our statement of principles. The True Diversity initiative provides an equality-based, holistic framework for embracing diversity that values each person as a unique individual and empowers charitable organizations with the freedom and flexibility to advance their missions and help those in need. Read the Roundtable’s official statement on the ruling here.   

    Ian Rowe, senior fellow at the American Enterprise Institute and founder and CEO of Vertex Partnership Academies, which is a charter school serving high school students in the Bronx, said: 

    “Years from now, Black students admitted to top schools will say thank you Supreme Court for a decision that removes the perception the only reason I got in is due to my race. You re-established merit as the core criteria to be considered against a standard bar of excellence.” 

    For more from Rowe on how to provide pathways to opportunity for disadvantaged individuals, check out his book “Agency: The Four Point Plan (F.R.E.E.) for ALL Children to Overcome the Victimhood Narrative and Discover Their Pathway to Power.”  

    Devon Westhill, president and general counsel of the Center for Equal Opportunity, whose mission is to “promote colorblind equal opportunity and nondiscrimination in America,” said: 

    “The Harvard and UNC cases provided the Court a great opportunity to clean up the mess it created by its decades-long experiment permitting a racial spoils system in college admissions. It has now seized the opportunity—on the 20th anniversary of its misguided Grutter opinion—to vindicate the American principle of equality under law. As a result, today we are a more perfect union, notwithstanding more work that lies ahead.” 

    The Center for Equal Opportunity filed amicus briefs in support of the plaintiff at every stage of these cases. Check out Westhill’s recent blog on this topic, entitled “Shall We Overcome: What is the Alternative to Affirmative Action?” 

    Stephanie Holmes, an experienced labor and employment lawyer and founder of BrighterSideHR, said: 

    “While the Court’s decision today is not directly applicable to the workplace, employers should take notice. Race-based preferences in the employment context have always been prohibited under Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which is the provision applicable to employment. In recent years, however, the proliferation of Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (“DEI”) programs in corporate America, while well-intentioned, have increased the focus on an employee or applicant’s race or sex. This has provided incentives for employers to make hiring or other employment decisions based on protected categories, such as race, which is unlawful.   

    The Court’s majority opinion underscores the value and importance of treating all people – all employees – as the unique individuals they are in order to fulfill the promises guaranteed to every American in our Constitution. Even though the Supreme Court’s decision does not change existing law in the employment context, employers should be prepared for increased focus on and questions around their DEI approach. Employers are encouraged to use this opportunity to review their diversity programs and be prepared for questions from employees, who may have a wide variety of opinions on this topic.”   

    For more from Holmes, an author of our True Diversity toolkit, please read “True Diversity: Legal Overview & Recommendations for Employers.” 

    Pacific Legal Foundation, a nonprofit that defends Americans’ liberties from government overreach and abuse, responded to the ruling in a Fox News op-ed. Legal fellow Ethan Blevins said: 

    “While this is a key win for individual rights, the court did not go far enough. The court should have held that race can play no role in university admissions whatsoever. Instead, the court has opted to prop up a feeble precedent that leaves the door ajar for ongoing discrimination.” 

    Pacific Legal Foundation filed an amicus brief in favor of SFFA in these cases. Read more about their  litigation efforts here.  

    Patrice Onwuka, Philanthropy Roundtable adjunct senior fellow and director of the Center for Economic Opportunity at the Independent Women’s Forum, said: 

    “As a society, we cannot remedy past discrimination by creating new inequities; otherwise, we lock ourselves into a vicious cycle of injustice. Today, the U.S. Supreme Court affirmed that educational institutions must not infringe on the civil rights of one group of students based on their race regardless of whether some view the desired outcome as virtuous.   

     “Every child in America deserves access to a quality education regardless of race, ethnicity, national origin or class. Education is not only an equalizer, but it anchors the ladder of economic opportunity. If we want to ensure that disadvantaged children, including those from minority backgrounds, can compete for spaces in higher education, we should accelerate school choice efforts and be committed to holding all kids to the same high standards.”  

    For more from Onwuka on this topic, read her Philanthropy Roundtable research on the effectiveness of diversity quotas on corporate boards in “Improving Board Diversity: Lessons from Sweden and Norway.” She has also written about the pitfalls of charitable organizations collecting demographic data and using it to make philanthropic decisions. Read more here. 

  • Happy Birthday, America! Why Remembering Our Past is Integral to Our Future


    This year our country celebrates its 247th birthday – commemorating the 13 American colonies’ declaration of independence from Great Britain. The newly formed American republic was based on the idea that all people are created equal with fundamental, inalienable rights that cannot be taken or given away. As we continue to cherish our democracy and the American way of life, it’s worth remembering that its strength depends on our shared understanding of this country’s history and founding principles.  

    Sadly, civics knowledge has been waning for years, with many students unable to understand and explain how our government –and our civic society – actually work. According to a survey released this spring by the National Center for Education Statistics, just 22% of eighth-grade students were graded as “proficient” on a national civics assessment, a two point decline since 2018. It’s no understatement to say this downward trend of knowledge and understanding is dangerous for the health and survival of the American republic. 

    Fortunately, many philanthropists recognize this crisis exists and are dedicated to reversing its decline.  

    In April, Philanthropy Roundtable partnered with the Connelly Foundation and the Daniels Fund to host a National Civics Expo that highlighted 10 nonprofits (five Philadelphia-based, where the expo was located, and five nationally focused) that are doing exceptional work in elevating civics knowledge for students, teachers and parents.  


    Philadelphia-focused nonprofits: 

    The Union League Foundation 

    For 77 years, the Union League Foundation has hosted its Good Citizen Day program, providing an immersive experience in constitutional and civics education for high school students. The day culminates in a celebratory awards banquet, where each student is presented with a personalized Union League Good Citizenship Award. Over 18,000 young men and women have been celebrated and educated. 


    Freedoms Foundation at Valley Forge 

    Located in historic Valley Forge, Pennsylvania, the Foundation seeks to preserve American patriotism and civic duty by providing high-quality history and civics opportunities, including seminars, workshops and site visits for students and educators. Students from across the country come to the Foundation to engage in the study of the principles of our Constitution and focus on understanding the U.S. political, social and economic system and the responsibilities of good citizenship. 


    Rendell Center for Civics and Civic Engagement 

    By supporting K-12 teachers and administrators to advance the learning of U.S. history, government and civics, the Rendell Center is restoring the civics mission of schools. The Center’s programs include hands-on, experiential learning activities like its Citizenship Challenge, an essay contest for fourth and fifth graders that provides an opportunity for students to express themselves on a current issue facing our democracy. The organization also offers literature-based mock trials, which combine literacy and civics to provide K-8 students with “the knowledge and disposition of engaged citizens.” 


    National Constitution Center (NCC) 

    Located on Philadelphia’s historic Independence Mall, the NCC brings the Constitution to life for people of all ages, nationalities and perspectives through “its interactive exhibits, rare documents and artifacts, moving theater programs and educational activities.” Last fall, NCC launched Constitution 101, a full online core curriculum for high school students designed “to provide a basic understanding of the Constitution’s text, history, structure and case law.” The Center is currently developing an edition for middle school students. 


    Museum of the American Revolution (MoAR) 

    The newest addition to the history and civics landscape in Philadelphia and the nation, the MoAR opened in 2017 and “owns a collection of several thousand objects including artwork, sculpture, textiles, weapons, manuscripts and rare books.” Operating under the belief that civics education is most effective with a lived experience-centered approach, MoAR focuses on powerful storytelling about “people in predicaments” and developing historical empathy. 


    National organizations scaling and building their programs: 

    Bill of Rights Institute (BRI) 

    With a network of 70,000 history and civics educators, thousands of classroom-ready history and civics resources and annual student and teacher programming, BRI equips students and teachers to “live the ideals of a free and just society.” By 2026, BRI plans to increase its teacher network to 100,000 educators who will “teach 10 million students each year,” and in 2024, will release a “digital resource in civics that emphasizes civil society and constitutionally limited government.” 


    Jack Miller Center (JMC) 

    Partnering with faculty, administrators and donors to change the way college and high school students learn about the history and principles at the heart of American political life, JMC aims to “bring our nation’s history and founding principles back into the minds and hearts of young Americans.” JMC is developing a Civics Consortium master’s degree, which will improve graduate education for civics teachers and strengthen the teaching of America’s founding. 


    American Legion Boys State 

    Founded in 1935 “to counter socialism-inspired Young Pioneer Camps,” Boys State “participants learn their rights, privileges and responsibilities as citizens and participate in legislative sessions, court proceedings, law-enforcement presentations, assemblies, bands, choruses and recreational programs.”  Active in each state for over 85 years, the COVID-19 pandemic greatly impacted its student engagement, and the American Legion is working to rebuild its reach throughout the country. 


    Institute for Citizens & Scholars 

    Urban and rural areas are the largest civics deserts in the country. With that in mind, the Institute is launching a Civic Innovation Fund to provide early-stage capital to entrepreneurs with big ideas on how to ensure 14- to 18-year-olds in these overlooked regions are civically well-informed. Bringing together innovators from the left, right and center, the Institute is building an ecosystem to develop and test new ideas to increase civic understanding. 


    Florida Civics and Debate Initiative (FCDI) 

    Established in 2019 as a statewide debate program focused on civics education, the FCDI creates access and opportunities for all students in this arena. Their programming uses “debate specifically as a tool to enrich civics education” and benefits from incredibly strong support from state leaders. The program has grown exponentially over the past three years and is now ready to work with other states to scale beyond Florida. 

    In the words of Thomas Jefferson, one of America’s founding fathers and its third president: “Educate and inform the whole mass of the people. … They are the only sure reliance for the preservation of our liberty.” Indeed, civics education is fundamental to our nation’s future, and as we celebrate Independence Day, Philanthropy Roundtable applauds the organizations working to advance education on this vital topic.  

    For more information on how to help protect and support the American values that strengthen our free society, please reach out to Clarice Smith, program director at Philanthropy Roundtable.  

  • Celebrating the Legacy of Julius Rosenwald This Juneteenth

    On Monday, the nation will celebrate its newest national holiday, Juneteenth. June 19 commemorates the day in 1865 when the last enslaved people were declared free in America.  

    One way to celebrate Juneteenth is through powerful depictions of freedom fighters and their efforts to achieve equality for all. Julius Rosenwald, who rose to become president of Sears, Roebuck and Company, is one philanthropist who comes to mind. Rosenwald, the son of Jewish immigrants, was committed to seeing Blacks improve their lives through education and self-reliance. He helped finance the construction of over 5,300 schools in 15 southern states between 1912 and 1932. His work contributed to the education of more than 600,000 Black students, including poet Maya Angelou and former Democratic Rep. John Lewis of Georgia. 

    Rosenwald and freed Blacks such as Booker T. Washington, whom Rosenwald partnered with, understood that education would be the key to uplifting Black people. Their new freedom was just the start of a long road to realizing the pathways to opportunity that our Founding Fathers enshrined in the Declaration of Independence. Through education, Rosenwald and others would help Blacks become economically independent.  

    Yet the challenges they had to overcome were great. In 1880, three out of four (76%) Blacks were illiterate in the South. By 1910, that rate had fallen to one out of three (33.3%). Nevertheless, over 40% of Black men were still illiterate. Rosenwald’s schools taught children and adults alike to read and become productive citizens, leading to tremendous outcomes. A Federal Reserve Bank of Chicago analysis in 2009 found that “The Rosenwald program accounts for at least 30% of the sizable educational gains of Blacks during the 1910s and 1920s.” 


    Creating a National Park to Honor Rosenwald 

    To honor Rosenwald’s legacy, in 2020, Congress directed the U.S. Department of the Interior to study the feasibility of designating sites associated with the life of Julius Rosenwald as a part of the National Park Service. This move stemmed from the work of the Rosenwald Park Campaign, an organization of volunteers dedicated to honoring Julius Rosenwald and protecting the Rosenwald schools by creating a National Historic Park. Philanthropy Roundtable joins hundreds of organizations in supporting this campaign. 

    Some of the very people who are now charged with creating the National Historic Park for the Rosenwald Schools understand firsthand the importance of Rosenwald’s legacy. Robert G. Stanton, the first African-American director of the National Park Service, noted:  

    “I personally experienced the pain and stain of segregation under the ‘separate but equal’ doctrine, attending a dilapidated two-room elementary school. With support from the NAACP, my parents and others filed suit in Federal District Court in 1949 to have a new school built in the community and eventually won the case. They were committed to quality education for their children, as were African-American parents throughout the rural south. We children also possessed what Dr. Mary McLeod Bethune called a ‘thirst for education.’ The Rosenwald Schools gave many African-American children access to educational opportunities that they would not otherwise have had.”

    In an effort to further promote and raise funding for this National Historic Park, the board of the Campaign commissioned a film entitled “Rosenwald: Toward A More Perfect Union,” directed and produced by Charles Poe, co-founder of the Parks Channel, a new social media platform for content about national parks. This film tells “The extraordinary story of a forgotten philanthropist, a Jewish son of immigrants from Chicago who became a champion for Black education in the Jim Crow South.” Recently, it received the award for best documentary short at the People’s Film Festival in Harlem, New York. 

    This film will be shown as part of the Fifteenth Film Festival in the Washington, D.C. area on June 18. Showing this film just before Juneteenth sends a powerful message that, as we remember the end of one of our darkest periods of history, there was a period of hope and inspiration that followed.  

  • Mental Health Awareness Month: How Nonprofits Are Helping Individuals in Need

    In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month, Philanthropy Roundtable is highlighting the innovative work of civil society in approaching one of the biggest challenges our country faces: mental illness. With one in five Americans experiencing mental illness each year, there is a significant opportunity for philanthropic leadership in helping to address the needs of these vulnerable individuals and provide support for their families.

    The realities of mental illness in America are staggering:

    • 46% of Americans will meet the criteria for a diagnosable mental health condition sometime in their life, and half of those people will develop conditions by the age of 14.
    • About 3-5% of the U.S. adult population has severe or serious mental illness.
    • 30% of adult Americans with serious mental illness receive no treatment (medication or therapy).
    • 10% of Americans with a mental illness are uninsured, with limited access to treatment.
    • Between 11-20% of veterans who served in Operations Iraqi Freedom and Enduring Freedom experience PTSD and/or other mental health conditions.
    • 1 in 5 kids has a diagnosable mental health condition.

    The above realities are even more nuanced when considering that mental health issues contribute to higher rates of homelessness, hunger, substance abuse, domestic violence and other societal issues, including lower education outcomes for the next generation.

    The Roundtable supports philanthropists committed to fostering overall health and well-being, including those working to address the impact mental health issues are having on individuals and communities. We work to connect funders with organizations that provide vulnerable populations access to care and other resources. From foundations such as the Hackett Family Foundation, the Rees-Jones Foundation, the Marcus Foundation and others, philanthropists are approaching mental illness in ways that are having a positive tangible impact on people’s lives.

    While the mental health initiatives philanthropy supports are vast, below is a sampling of the innovative nonprofits and thought leaders who are making a difference in people’s lives all over the country:

    • Headstrong Project: The Headstrong Project is a nonprofit mental health organization providing confidential, barrier-free and stigma-free PTSD treatment to veterans, service members and family connected to their care. Headstrong’s growing clinical network focuses its capabilities across states where unmet mental health needs are highest. On average, Headstrong treats 1,400 clients per month through 275 clinicians in 15 states and Washington, D.C.
    • Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute: The Meadows Mental Health Policy Institute provides independent, nonpartisan, data-driven and trusted policy and program guidance to ensure all Texans can obtain effective, efficient behavioral health care when and where they need it. Their vision is to be the national leader in treating all people with mental health needs.
    • Stop Soldier Suicide: Stop Soldier Suicide’s mission is to reduce service member and veteran suicide using enhanced data insights, focused client acquisition and suicide-specific intervention services. Their vision is a nation where service members and veterans have no greater risk for suicide than any other American. In 2020, they served more than 700 service members and veterans and their work has reduced clients’ suicide risk by an average of 27%.
    • Treatment Advocacy Center: The Treatment Advocacy Center is a nonprofit dedicated to eliminating legal and other barriers to the timely and effective treatment of severe mental illness. The organization promotes laws, policies and practices for the delivery of psychiatric care and supports the development of innovative treatments for and research into the causes of severe and persistent psychiatric illnesses, such as schizophrenia and bipolar disorder. In the past year, the organization was involved in passing 12 priority bills related to mental illness, including a federal bill and bills in Alabama, Arizona, California, Colorado, Georgia, Kentucky, Louisiana, Maine, Missouri, Virginia and Washington.

    Thought leaders and other resources related to approaches to mental health:

    • Dr. Sally Satel reviews Dr. Thomas Insel’s book “Healing: Out Path From Mental Illness to Mental Health” for The Wall Street Journal, discussing how few patients get the care they need.
    • Naomi Schaefer Riley’s op-ed in New York Post entitled “Too Many Children Are at Risk Because of Their Parents’ Mental Illness” discusses mental trauma passed on through generations.
    • DJ Jaffe’s TED Talk at the National Council for Mental Wellbeing evaluates how society may be responsible for misleading government officials into denying violence, rather than taking steps to reduce it with those who are severely mentally ill.
    • The New York Times highlighted the influence of psychiatrist E. Fuller Torrey and his research over the past 40 years into involuntary psychiatric treatment policies for people with schizophrenia and other mental illnesses
    • A report published by Manhattan Institute Senior Fellow Stephen Eide and Adjunct Fellow Carolyn D. Gorman articulates a concept to help those with serious mental health issues before, during and after crisis by focusing on a “Continuum of Care.”
    • Philanthropy Roundtable hosted a webinar discussing the effects of COVID-19 on the national economy and its relation to rising rates of diseases and deaths of despair.
    • Manhattan Institute Senior Fellow Stephen Eide wrote a New York Post op-ed entitled “NYC can be a pioneer in the treatment of the seriously mentally ill,” which considers New York City Mayor Eric Adam’s plan for the city to be more proactive in dealing with psychotic individuals.
    • A Manhattan Institute report by Isabel McDevitt, co-founder of Work Works America, writes about the homeless in America who are able and willing to work, but policy fails to address the employment-based solutions that could better serve them.

    If you are interested in learning more about how Philanthropy Roundtable supports donors committed to addressing our nation’s mental health crisis, please contact Esther Larson, program director at Philanthropy Roundtable here.

  • Saving the Arts from Politics and Presentism

    How philanthropy can support the arts in an age of activism

    Philanthropy Roundtable’s Values-Based Giving Program connects our donor community to high-impact organizations that advance our shared values of liberty, opportunity and personal responsibility. This story is part of our campaign highlighting how donors and nonprofits work together to improve lives. Interested in learning more about Values-Based Giving and the services our team provides? Click here.

    Lincoln Jones doesn’t like to talk about ballet. That’s because as the founder of American Contemporary Ballet, his Los Angeles-based company of 21 dancers that mounts some 70 performances a year, he thinks about ballet in a different way than most. “Imagine a theoretical art form that is populated by almost impossibly beautiful creatures,” he says. “Angels, practically, angels inhabited by pure rhythm, and moving in a way that is unmistakable proof of human nobility.”

    Jones’s reverence for ballet has meant going against the grain of traditional staging, bringing the art form to warehouses and open spaces where his audiences can be immersed in the performances. But his quest for independence also goes beyond the stage. In summer 2020, Jones found himself dancing on a newly unstable platform. Like arts organizations across the country, Jones was pressured to post a black square to his company’s social media accounts. The reason: to show solidarity with Black Lives Matter. It wasn’t just a request. It was more like a demand. Yet, Jones refused. One of the few arts leaders to do so, he faced a backlash that almost overturned his company.

    “In 2020, they tried to kill us,” he recounts. “The ‘black square’ swept the arts world. Everyone was supposed to post the black square in support of Black Lives Matter. I didn’t do it. For one, because I read what Black Lives Matter was and I didn’t support it. And, two, it was not my prerogative to represent the artists in my company politically.”

    For his sin of omission, Jones’s dancers were threatened. They feared for the future of their careers. They worried they would be ostracized from the world of dance. But Jones stood his ground, writing an open letter to his company explaining his actions. There were resignations and loss of funding, but his audience returned. Now, two years later, as other LA-based arts organizations still find their numbers down, American Contemporary Ballet is up and dancing to a sold-out run.

    “There is no thought of the moralizing and the guilt trips that now come with what should be joyful, personal and celebratory experiences,” Jones says of the impact of today’s politics on the arts.

    In contrast, for his company, “Not a single audience member has complained that we have not apologized for the land we are dancing on, or the music that we’re dancing to or the color of our skin,” said Jones. “They all just seem to want a good show.”

    Jones is now one of the signatories of Philanthropy Roundtable’s “True Diversity” Initiative, which published a statement of principles pledging to “return love, compassion and empathy to the diversity conversation by embracing an equality-based perspective.” His journey reveals the challenges of finding a middle ground in a culture that has become anything but neutral. The same is true for today’s arts funders who seek to stay above the fray of contemporary politics.


    The problem is that, in the past few years, mainstream arts organizations have become besotted with politics. Transcendence is out. Presentism is in. Arts for art’s sake? Today, it can seem more like art for the sake of climate change, social justice or racial redress. In the news, we now see activists storming museums to throw soup at paintings or glue themselves to the walls. Yet these outward convulsions often only mirror the vandalism from within. Mainstream arts leaders are attacking the legacies of their own institutions. The director of the American Museum of Natural History has overseen the destruction of her institution’s memorial to Theodore Roosevelt. The director of the Whitney Museum of American Art gave the green light to an exhibition that attacked one of his own trustees, who was forced to resign. The director of the Metropolitan Museum of Art has called his institution “connected with a logic of what is defined as white supremacy.”

    In a recent City Journal article, “Guardians in Retreat,” Heather Mac Donald decries the firing of the 82 volunteer docents at the Art Institute of Chicago and their replacement with six paid educators. The reason? The color of their skin. In the mantra of “diversity, equity and inclusion,” the museum claimed its docent program had “centered certain stories while marginalizing and suppressing others.”

    Mac Donald continues:

    “The racialist wave that swept the United States following the arrest-related death of George Floyd in May 2020 has taken down scientists, artists and journalists. Entire traditions, whether in the humanities, music or scientific discovery, have been reduced to one fatal characteristic: whiteness. And now the anti-white crusade is targeting a key feature of American exceptionalism: the spirit of philanthropy and volunteerism.”

    Beyond these racialized attacks, cultural philanthropy continues to find itself up against the notion that charity should be spent on only utilitarian concerns. The Princeton philosopher Peter Singer reflects this Benthamite attitude, named for English writer Jeremy Bentham, in his book “The Life You Can Save”: “Philanthropy for the arts or for cultural activities is, in a world like this one, morally dubious.”

    Singer pointed to the $45 million the Metropolitan Museum of Art spent on a Duccio painting in 2004 as an amount that would pay for cataract operations for nearly one million blind people in the developing world. “If the museum were on fire,” he wrote, “would anyone think it right to save the Duccio from the flames, rather than a child?”

    Of course, the choice is a false equivalence. Philanthropy is not a zero-sum equation. A dollar directed to a museum does not remove a dollar from a hospital, food bank or shelter. And the soul is a vital organ of its own. American philanthropists have long understood this call as they established a vital legacy of arts support. Without a monarchy, largely with support from the state, private philanthropy created and underwrote American cultural organizations in ways that have become the envy of the world and a reflection of the virtues of our democratic ideals. Unfortunately, for many of today’s progressive cultural leaders, these ideals are just the problem as they seek to overturn this democratic legacy and undermine American legitimacy. They check all of the boxes except the one that matters: as Jones puts it, the box for “human nobility.”

    For philanthropists who still believe in America’s founding principles, funding for the arts can be a dance of its own. Sometimes the answer is to go it alone—funding one’s own cultural projects. With support from the Morris and Alma Schapiro Fund, the painter Jacob Collins founded a school called the Grand Central Atelier in 2014—after taking on students informally for more than two decades—that is dedicated to reviving the classical traditions of art. His first students from the 1990s have become his faculty, and his school now attracts students and attention from across the globe. Likewise in 2009, Rick DeVos founded ArtPrize, a contemporary art competition and festival that has invigorated Grand Rapids, Michigan, by offering nearly $500,000 in prizes and attracting half a million visitors a year, with art displayed throughout the city.

    Fortunately, outside of the world of land acknowledgments, preferred pronouns and black squares, there are still partners to be found who value art for art’s sake and the freedom that spirit represents. Take Riverside Symphony, composer and cofounder Anthony Korf’s 41-year-old Lincoln Center orchestra that rejects identity politics through its concerts and music literacy program for inner-city school children.

    “We program music on the basis of its value, or the potential of a contemporary composer to achieve that stature over time,” he says, going against the DEI mandates of many of today’s foundation functionaries.

    Or consider the National Civic Art Society, the advocacy organization led by Justin Shubow promoting America’s classical vernacular as envisioned by the Founding Fathers.

    “We shape our buildings; thereafter they shape us,” Shubow says, quoting Winston Churchill. “Our Founding Fathers were architects in their own right. They chose classical architecture to harken back to Rome and Athens.”

    What these arts organizations all share is a commitment to beauty and excellence that rises above contemporary trends and political convenience.

    The answer for today’s arts funders, one museum trustee tells me, is to look beyond the biggest organizations and the supposed prestige conferred by their board seats. Instead, he says, “Look to the second and third tier museum,” noting the abundance of local arts institutions that can still mount serious shows by flying under the radar of the Fords, Mellons and Carnegies and their progressive mandates. Join up with other connoisseurs, he advises, who don’t want to be led around by the nose.

    Likewise at Bader Philanthropies, one strategy of funding the arts is through its “Building Resilient Communities” initiative. “Through this strategy,” says the program officer Bridgett Gonzalez, “we are able to embrace the rich cultural diversity that embodies our local artistic community, exemplified through creative and traditional art forms.”

    When it comes to the arts, the solution, ultimately, goes beyond the politics of left and right. “There is a very specific political ideology that has taken over,” concludes Lincoln Jones. “It has for a very long time. This did not start in 2020. You have art that is politically based. And then there is art that is based on the human desire for connection and spirituality.”

    Nevertheless, to avoid the politics of art, it now takes some understanding of the art of politics and a willingness to dig deeper into the cultural organizations that expect your support. The question is not what is right or left, but what is right or wrong when it comes to the arts and the bravery to embrace, in English poet Matthew Arnold’s famous phrase, what is still “the best that has been thought and said in the world.”

    James Panero is the executive editor of The New Criterion.

    (Photo Credit: American Contemporary Ballet)

  • The Return of the Wealth Tax Debate

    Can the government tax charitable assets? A court case put before the U.S. Supreme Court may hold the answer to this question. By considering whether unrealized assets can be taxed, the courts could open the door for a new wealth tax covering assets within private foundations or charitable trusts.

    The U.S. Court of Appeals for the Ninth Circuit recently sidestepped the equal apportionment clause of the 16th amendment by becoming the first court in the country to state that an “income tax” doesn’t require that a “taxpayer has realized income.” In other words, this opens the door to the possibility that you can be taxed on income you didn’t receive (yes, you read that right).

    Last week, Competitive Enterprise Institute petitioned the U.S. Supreme Court to take up the issue in Moore v. United States.

    To understand what is at stake, we begin with investments. When the value of stocks and investments rise but are yet to be sold, they are called unrealized investment gains. These gains are not taxed according to current tax regulations until the investment is sold and the capital gains are realized.

    To illustrate, let’s say you purchased a painting for $1,000, and after a year, its market value rose to $1,500. As long as you haven’t sold the painting, the $500 increase in value is considered an unrealized gain, and you don’t need to pay taxes on it.

    The decision by the Ninth Circuit, if not overturned, could usher in a new era of federal taxes being imposed on properties, stocks, appreciating assets, possibly even jewelry, artwork, vehicles and household furniture.

    What’s more, opening the door to the possibility of imposing federal taxes on wealth would have profound implications for the charitable sector.

    Emmanuel Saez and Gabriel Zucman, two well-known French economists who have provided advice to Senators Elizabeth Warren and Bernie Sanders regarding their proposed wealth tax plans, have suggested a new approach to calculating tax bills for wealthy Americans. This new approach would consider not only the personal assets of these individuals, but also the assets of their charitable foundations.

    The change would be significant, given that American charitable foundations provided  $91 billion to nonprofit organizations in the previous year. If wealthy individuals’ foundations were to see a reduction in assets, the communities currently benefiting from those donations would experience a substantial (negative) impact.

    In 2019, the National Taxpayers Union Foundation conducted an analysis of Warren’s proposed wealth tax on charitable foundation assets and found the tax would consume between 6% and 25% of the annual disbursements of five selected foundations, including the Dell Foundation, the Omidyar Network and Dalio Philanthropies.

    The history of wealth taxes suggests they are not effective and are frequently abandoned due to the economic damage they cause. Fifteen European countries have introduced wealth taxes over the last century, but only three still enforce them.

    In 2017, France eliminated its wealth tax after the prime minister acknowledged it was prompting the departure of 10,000 to 12,000 millionaires each year. This tax impeded economic growth and contributed to just over 1% of overall tax revenue, which is an inadequate return for the cost.

    Sweden, which is often cited as a progressive policy model, had a wealth tax for almost 100 years before abandoning it in 2007. The tax had virtually no effect on government finances while being blamed for significant capital flight. Germany also had a wealth tax, but it was deemed unconstitutional and abolished in 1996. Wealth taxes have not proven successful worldwide, and it remains uncertain whether the U.S. Constitution grants Congress the authority to impose such a tax.

    The 16th Amendment says “taxes on income” do not need to be apportioned among the states. This likely means that other federal taxes, such as a tax on unrealized capital gains and other wealth taxes, must be applied equally to all 50 states, according to population.

    Alabama, which makes up roughly 1.5% of the nation’s population, would have to produce roughly 1.5% of the revenue raised by the tax. But Alabama and seven other states have no billionaires, and California and New York combined have 43% of them, so equally apportioning the tax among the states would be impossible.

    As the decision by the Ninth Circuit Court is petitioned, the Supreme Court may issue a decision on this matter — it could have profound implications on the possibility of federal wealth taxes being imposed on the unrealized assets of Americans.

    Whether we consider the economic costs of a tax on unrealized capital gains, the historical precedent of nations abandoning wealth taxes or the question of constitutionality, the result would be less economic growth, fewer jobs and a significant reduction in philanthropic giving.

    To learn more about the impact of wealth taxes on charitable giving, read our policy primer here.

  • Nonprofits Transforming Civics Education Worth Celebrating on Presidents Day

    Presidents Day was originally a commemoration of George Washington’s birthday. He considered civic virtue to be essential, saying in his famous Farewell Address, “Virtue or morality is a necessary spring of popular government,” and to Marquis Lafayette that the government “can never be in danger of degenerating into a monarchy, an oligarchy, an aristocracy, or any other despotic or oppressive form; so long as there shall remain any virtue in the body of the people.”  

    This Presidents Day, Philanthropy Roundtable is celebrating by highlighting donors and organizations that are championing civics education that inform citizens, protect democracy and create a safe, enduring society. 

    Equipping Teachers: While schools traditionally incorporate civics education as part of their curriculum, many teachers lack opportunities to gain expertise in civics content or ideas for how to best engage their students with it. Here are two initiatives that are working to fill this gap. 

    • American Civics and History Initiative (ACHI), is an ambitious initiative by three major civic education organizations: the Bill of Rights Institute (BRI), the Jack Miller Center (JMC), and the Ashbrook Center. ACHI’s purpose is to reach 680,000 students by training 6,800 teachers in Florida over the next two years. ACHI’s trainings are designed to “empower educators through rich, content-based programs and resources” they can use in the classroom. ACHI would not be possible without the involvement of the Jack Miller Family Foundation, which is funded by Florida-based philanthropist Jack Miller. Miller brought together BRI, JMC and Ashbrook, and now is facilitating ACHI not just by writing checks, but by acting as a partner in the initiative, along with the Marcus Foundation, funded by philanthropist Bernie Marcus. 

      Learn more in the Roundtable’s interview with ACHI’s funders and grantees. 
    • Georgia Center for Civics Engagement (GCCE), “has been working to help fill gaps in civics education among the state’s young people through programs that promote self-esteem, leadership skills and a sense of responsibility for oneself and the greater community.” First, GCCE uses a train-the-trainer approach in providing quality professional development and curricular resources that are aligned with the state educational standards to enhance quality instruction. Secondly, they provide students with opportunities to participate in simulated governmental proceedings like mock elections, model United Nations and legislative meetings. The success and popularity of GCCE’s programs has inspired other states, including Kansas and Arkansas, to replicate GCCE’s model. 

      Learn more about GCCE by reading the Roundtable’s interview with GCCE’s CEO, Dr. Randell Trammell. 

    Student Opportunities: While acquiring civic knowledge is essential, students also need engaging ways to apply their knowledge to the real world. These donors and organizations are partnering to provide students with these experiences:  

    • The National Civics Bee is an annual competition that encourages young Americans to engage in civics and contribute to their communities. Supported by the Daniels Fund and the U.S. Chamber of Commerce, the National Civics Bee challenges middle school students to apply their civics knowledge for a chance to win recognition and prizes provided by the local community. The goal is to awaken the possibility that civics engagement can make this country a better place. Instead of being organized by schools, civics bees live at local chambers of commerce who encourage the entire community to get involved in this important effort. 

      Learn more from Daniel’s Fund President and CEO Hanna Skandera on how civics bees can help today’s students get excited about our nation’s history. 
    • JA BizTown, a Junior Achievement USA program (JA USA), blends teacher-led sessions with experiential learning. The fourth through sixth grade students prepare for their JA BizTown experience by participating in a series of classroom lessons where they learn about financial literacy, community and economy, work readiness and business management, all through a civics lens. Each student selects a career, creates a business plan, develops a marketing campaign and elects a mayor. The students then take their newly acquired skills to JA BizTown. At the “town,” which consists of a variety of businesses, a municipal building, a radio station and banks, the students get hands-on experience as employees and consumers by paying rent, buying insurance, depositing paychecks and more. Due to the encouragement of longtime supporter The Marcus Foundation, JA USA added content to their program to increase the civics knowledge and experience for those who participate in JA BizTown programming.  

      You can learn more about JA BizTown and their partnership with The Marcus Foundation here. 

    Building a Healthy Civic Culture: Civic knowledge and skills obtained in the classroom are important, but all citizens also need to be equipped with a mindset to constructively engage with those with whom they disagree. Here are organizations and initiatives focused on this uniting effort. 

    • Braver Angels seeks to unite America by bridging the divide among liberals, conservatives and others by helping these groups understand each other as fellow citizens, beyond the stereotypes. To reduce the “vitriol that poisons our civic culture,” Braver Angels hosts workshops, debates, campus engagement and other positive activities at the grassroots level to form community alliances. The Sumners Foundation is a key supporter of the Braver Angels work in Texas.  

      Read more about Braver Angels and their depolarization efforts here. 
    • Constitution Drafting Project, created by the National Constitution Center with support from philanthropist Jeff Yass, brought together three teams of leading constitutional scholars in 2020: team libertarian, team progressive and team conservative, to draft and present their ideal constitutions, according to their website. The National Constitution Center later reconvened the teams for a virtual constitutional convention to draft and propose a series of amendments to the U.S. Constitution. The result was five new amendments adopted by representatives from all three teams. The project demonstrates how those of opposing viewpoints can civilly disagree as well as work together to find points of consensus. 

      You can watch the Roundtable’s interview with Jeff Yass, NCC president Jefferey Rosen and the leaders of the respective drafting teams. 

    Philanthropy Roundtable believes a robust civics education is essential to promoting and preserving good citizenship, which is crucial for the health and future of our nation. In 1776, future President John Adams warned of the importance of enduring virtue in a letter to his cousin, Zabdiel Adams: 

    “The only foundation of a free Constitution is pure virtue, and if this cannot be inspired into our people, in a greater measure than they have it now, they may change their rulers, and the forms of government, but they will not obtain a lasting liberty. They will only exchange tyrants and tyrannies.”