Foundation Watch

Foundation Watch
A Conversation with the Manhattan Institute’s John D. Sailer (Part 1 of 2)
The think-tank fellow and higher-education researcher talks to Michael E. Hartmann about the Mellon Foundation’s and other grantmakers’ substantial support of the “scholar-activist pipeline” and how it tilts colleges and…
by Michael E. Hartmann on April 16, 2025

Foundation Watch
A Conversation with the Manhattan Institute’s John D. Sailer (Part 2 of 2)
The think-tank fellow and higher-education researcher talks to Michael E. Hartmann about the necessary scrutiny of and unfortunate lack of transparency in much philanthropically supported programs and projects in higher…
by Michael E. Hartmann on April 16, 2025

Foundation Watch
Jeffrey Hart’s 1973 Criticism of Foundations’ Social Activism
Back to the future, of foundations. The below article by Jeffrey Hart originally appeared as a chapter, “Foundations and Social Activism: A Critical View,” in 1973’s The Future of Foundations,…
by Jeffrey Hart on March 25, 2025

Foundation Watch
BEST OF 2024
How the Ford Foundation Changed Entertainment: The Foundation
The Ford Foundation places a heavy emphasis on supporting the documentary film industry. According to the foundation, its film-related grantmaking constitutes “one of the largest documentary funds in the world.”…
by Thomas Pack, Robert Stilson on December 27, 2024

Foundation Watch
BEST OF 2024
The Ford Foundation’s Ugly, Warped View of America: Megaphones and Militancy
The Ford Foundation is filled with money earned a century ago by Henry Ford in gritty Dearborn, Michigan. But neither the family nor the automaker control it anymore. Decades ago,…
by Ken Braun on December 27, 2024

Foundation Watch
Big Philanthropy’s Most Radical Scholars
Last month, the Marguerite Casey Foundation announced the 2024 winners of its annual Freedom Scholar award, highlighting the work of some of the country’s most prominent leftist activist-academics.
by Robert Stilson on October 3, 2024

Foundation Watch
Hoovering Up Henry Ford’s Money: Free Money Versus Free Enterprise
At the end of 1976, Henry Ford II, resigned from the Ford Foundation board of directors. In his resignation letter, he advised the foundation's board, “I'm just suggesting to the…
by Ken Braun on September 11, 2024

Foundation Watch
Hoovering Up Henry Ford’s Money: Revolutions and Bullhorns
For nonprofits that really want the Ford funding spigot wide open, it is difficult to understate the importance of portraying supporters shouting through bullhorns, engaging in street demonstrations, and preaching…
by Ken Braun on September 11, 2024

Foundation Watch
Hoovering Up Henry Ford’s Money: Crime and Democracy
Claiming that their preferred flavor of multi-whatever democracy has never existed and pledging to put it in place is clearly a winning message for aspiring grantees. Perversely, Ford’s philanthropoids also…
by Ken Braun on September 11, 2024

Foundation Watch
Hoovering Up Henry Ford’s Money: Shaping the News
Ford grants are also showered upon those who help inject left-wing messages into media and culture. Since the beginning of 2023, those in charge of Henry’s money have shipped out…
by Ken Braun on September 11, 2024