Elites' Influence on Global Progressive Change: An Analysis of U.S. Private Foundations and Social Movement Organizations

Abstract

This paper seeks to understand the contributions that U.S. private foundations make to the collective, people-centered work of social movement organizations (SMOs) domestically and globally, and to examine the ways in which the practices of private foundations could be adjusted to better support social justice movements. Private foundations include independent, operating, and corporate foundations, and are primarily grantmaking institutions that occasionally administer programs. One of their few requirements is to spend a minimum of five percent of their net assets each year to a very-broadly defined charitable purpose. A social movement organization, or SMO, is a “complex, or formal, organization which identifies its goals with the preferences of a social movement” and seeks to implement its goals (McCarthy & Zald, 1977, p. 1218). The complex identities of SMOs include radical, autonomous, grassroots organizations and professionalized, legally-registered, nonprofit organizations. SMOs provide effective vehicles for bringing about policy change and social justice. Three elements of the policies, programs, and culture that govern private foundations in the U.S. are examined in this paper, including: regulatory structures and tax laws, “safe” grantmaking practices, and social change discourse. While the lack of accountability that private foundations enjoy makes lasting change challenging to accomplish, change is possible. In turn, each section is followed by recommendations that are intended to increase pressure in a few areas that will catalyze change.