i think if you donate it's gone ..you dont get a tax break for it or get money back on your taxes ..you give it away thats it thats how it should be
10
Why everyone a self described Billionaire?
4
In the article’s referred book “Winners Take All”, Walker comes away as one of the few people ‘on the inside’ who are even aware of the hypocrisies surrounding philanthropy. (The very grim and judgmental book purposely saves Walker for last, as to point out that there is hope yet) It is important for this awareness to permeate on the inside, even when Walker’s very presence at Ford might be characterized as hypocritical. Nobody appears to be spreading awareness about structural change through philanthropy the way Walker currently does. And that alone makes him more valuable than hypocritical.
49
Noblesse oblige hopefully addresses the stench of poverty and inequality through charities such as the Ford Foundation. I appreciate Darren Walker's laser focus on accountability and measureable outcomes as he transforms and disrupts the world of philanthropy. Bravo!
25
Philanthropy is lovely except when it robs from tax revenue so needed for schools, roads, food, shelter and health care for poor etc. Tax first, donate with the next billions. Tax revenue is far more likely to raise up the poor than a new edgy black artist’s painting in the Ford galleries.
33
For those of us who don't have the millions or billions to donate, just remember this. Whenever we make someone have a better day we are also philanthropists. I truly believe that.
84
This seemingly lovely, brilliant, and thoughtful man occupying a job with a very thin veneer of a never-ending, self-perpetuating mission fueled by whispers of fumes from an obscene hoard of wealth should take this publicity the Times has granted him and spend the time he has to change the Foundation paradigm or else his brief time as its President will have yielded only crumbs of possibility. Didn't that well-intentioned billionaire Bono try to save humanity with his own whispers of fumes from an obscene hoard of wealth? There are quite a few billionaires these days who simply love the limelight and strategically flashing their potential influence all the while gaining publicity. Brooke Astor was the epitome of a philanthropist - she exuberantly distributed the capital and principal of an enormous foundation until it was gone. All of the guardians of these rainy-day fortunes should realize it's a flood out here.
17
Sorry, dude. Taxation is the cost you pay to play the game. Being able to have a job or start a business is a PRIVILEGE, not an inherent right. No one is stealing from you. On the contrary, the government (i.e."We the people") are allowing you to not only earn money, but also earn it in a society that provides regulatory safeguards (e.g. FDIC) that enable you to protect your money and enjoy the quality of life. If you're paying taxes, it means you made money. Be thankful for that.
38
With so much sheer evil in the world (read Donald Trump), it's hopeful that there is at least one person in the world working to overcome inequity.
35
Love this piece! And this quote particularly:
“I’m not interested in tokenism. I’m interested in transformation. How can we be allies in an idea that might fundamentally change your world, and might make you uncomfortable? Because not everyone in the room is going to look like you when this transformation is complete.”
49
The most effective philanthropy would be if a philanthropist formed LLCs for, oh...100,000 noncorporations closest to their home who live at poverty or below.
Then we too can defy the worst of Federal and local laws[1], buy ads to outspeech vile-GOP elites, and run up infinite debts when we really need food. And if one LLC recipient files jointly with another, the marriage can be remade as a corporation itself with even wilder benefits, I'm sure.
Power to the people!
[1] Whereas current megacorps defy the most crucial ones.
11
Rutger Bergman said at the Davos conference that the rich and corporations should pay their fair share in taxes and STOP THE FAKE philanthropy.
35
And they all quietly laughed and ordered the next bottle of Grand Vin Chateau Latour Grand Cru Pauillac - Medoc 1961 and then discussed their fabric choices for the main dining salon aboard their 440 foot yacht with its 41 state rooms and two helicopters, while they sipped the liquid of the Gods and whispered in giggles, “Let them eat Chicken nuggets”.
36
“...because of tax breaks, they are also giving away your money...”
It is not your money. It was never your money.
The government not taking someone else’s money is not the same thing as the government giving that person that same amount of your money.
Money is earned. You earn your. Someone else earns theirs.
A person’s labor or the product of their labor earns their money. It belongs to them and it’s their choice where it goes - their church, their grandchildren, their community, a school, etc. You never have the right to the fruits of someone else’s labor.
Taxation is not an entitlement to someone else’s assets. It’s a mechanism of theft whereby the state forces citizens to part with the fruits of their labor at the point of a gun.
Tax may be necessary to a functioning government but it should be treated seriously. It is literally the government stealing from citizens to fund services used by the state or by other citizens, and is done so under the threat of violence.
8
Definition of philanthropy
1 : goodwill to fellow members of the human race especially : active effort to promote human welfare
2a : an act or gift done or made for humanitarian purposes
b : an organization distributing or supported by funds set aside for humanitarian purposes
Gimme a break!
Philanthropy, the best tax scam around for very wealthy people.
11
Truth.
3
Why doesn’t he experiment and build ten 200 million dollar buildings for public sector employees. This is how it would work. If the cost is 2 billion he would put down one billion or 50% of the cost. He would receive a huge tax break so that all public sector employees could buy an apartment at 50% of the cost hold for fifteen years and then have the right to sell at market prices where the original investor or investment group / non profit would be paid back in full. They would get a 5% year tax break so that after 15 years they already got 75% of their funds back . Then after the apartments are sold in fifteen years they would profit. This type of plan could go nationwide and end the shortage of housing in most cities . The middle clas investors would also not have to be pay a capital gains tax since development would be in a low income area. If fifty cities did this $100 billion in housing could be built with all benefiting from Petrillo economics.
10
Seems like most charities exist to protect and shelter immoral inhuman inhumane billionaires. To give them tax and misdeed shelters.
To say nothing of the rampant sex-trafficking that seems a fixture of the billionaire and political classes.
13
@Denise
I think you are right on target for they are all tax shelters and homelessness is at a record high. Heh Bill Gates your worth $100 billion ever think of building low income housing?
19
35.3 years. What's that? Records indicate the prior Ford Foundation President made appr. $2,000,000.00 annually or, stated another way, he was paid, each year, 35.3 years worth of what the average american earns ($56,516). Darren Walker is 'only' earning about $600,000 annually. So we should be thankful he's only taking home 11+ years worth of what those 'other people' make.
As a legacy foundation Fords annual 'expenses' hover around 20% and, to be fair, their in the ball-park of other legacy foundations. Ostensibly justified until one considers the size of the foundation. The Ford foundation in travel, expenses, paying experts, board members, hiring staff (appr. $80,000,000.00 annually), spent $122,000,000.00 million in 2016 (https://www.fordfoundation.org/media/3487/financial_snapshot_2016_final.pdf). That works out to around 2,158 years of annual salary or...what 2,158 people working 40+ hours a week earn in year.
This idea that charity distributed in this fashion is either efficient or somehow magnanimous is a fantasy - a fiction no less easily debunked than the existence of unicorns. To be honest, I'd not even care if it weren't for the vast inequality we have in the USA and the fiction our citizenry should be thankful for our corporate benefactors. It's nonsense and the sooner we realize it the better this country will be. And, if we do not, if we do not address the stench of these distinctions then we will see more Donald J. Trumps - not less of them.
25
Anna Deavre Smith's last play was amazing and worthy of every Ford dollar.....it's called "Note from the Field."
http://www.annadeaveresmith.org
12
I worked with foundations in Princeton NJ, Philadelphia, Minneapolis, Seattle, NY and st. Louis. I am with Anand. Many foundations are just perpetuating their brand and many staffers on all levels, burnishing their careers. Allegedly, Bill Gates once said that he wouldn't partner with the UN because of bureaucracy and supossedly, lack of impact evaluation processes. Global problems need solutions, not ego massaging.
19
"On the general stupidity and hunkerousness of millionaires a formidable tome might be written—a job I resign herewith to anyone diligent enough to assemble the facts. Not only do they gather in their assets by processes which never show any originality, but are always based upon a few banal principles of swindling; they also display the same lack of resource and ingenuity in getting rid of them. It is years since any American millionaire got his money in any new and stimulating way, and it is years since any American millionaire got rid of his money by any device worthy the admiration of connoisseurs.
Setting aside the pathetic dullards who merely hang on to their accumulations, like dogs hoarding bones, the rich men of the Republic may be divided into two grand divisions, according to their varying notions of what is a good time. Those in the first division waste their funds upon idiotic dissipation or personal display. They are the Wine Jacks, social pushers and horsey fellows—the Thaws, Goulds, and so on. Those in the second division devote themselves to buying public esteem by gaudy charities and a heavy patronage of the arts and sciences. They are the Rockefellers, Carnegies, Morgans, et al."
--- These are the first two paragraphs in "A Chance for Millionaires," an article originally published by H.L. Mencken in the New York Evening Mail in 1918.
To which one can only add, not much has changed.
19
Mr. Walter is obviously talented because he see things other cannot, hears everything in earshot and can eat a baloney sandwich without barfing. Ford money spends better than Gates money as Bill gave away half of his wealth twenty different time and is still number one or two without a dent on the portfolio. Notwithstanding Bill's (philanthrope magic), and never ending wealth, Mr. Walker is a really good guy who would rather feed his dog than dance at the ball. Ford money is in good hands...
23
Hey brother can you spare a mortgage payoff? :-)
13
There is a major humanitarian crisis on our southern border. I beg Darren Walker to use all influence and connections to get relief to these immigrants now. Call on all of us. People are suffering in our name . . .
The Germans treated my grandfather better than we are treating these immigrant families and my grandfather was a POW shot down and imprisoned after bombing German cities.
Mr. Walker. Please help us restore our good name. We aren't monsters but Trump, Miller and their associates are.
40
I would rather see corporations pay their fair share in taxes on their profits , fair being 70% in my opinion . Rather than distributing those profits to charities in order to avoid paying tax.
If all the tax dollars donated to charities were collected by the Federal Government , this country would be in better shape . Perhaps there would be less need and poverty .
28
@Brit
How many of them are much smarter about self dealing with "charity" than is our president who is apparently so dumb he buys paintings of himself then displays them in his place of business.
7
Meanwhile, I'm on a fixed income and gladly spend more on feeding and caring for two kitties no one wanted - one with severe neurological damage requiring constant care - than I do on feeding myself. Thank god for food banks.
21
@Topher S and thank God for folks like you, sir. Love works.
7
Hypocrisy knows no bounds.
“At Ford, he made changes. He sold the foundation’s blue chip art collection and used the money to buy 320 newer works, many by female artists or artists of color. He integrated two sides of Ford’s work: its support for the arts and its grants for social justice. Declaring himself a proud capitalist, he called for a capitalism that spread its wealth rather than concentrating it. In place of charity, he promised a push for justice.”
In short, he did as he accuses those of means did before him, viz., use dollars otherwise that would have been taxed to fun pet causes.
Consistency is a mark of genius. About the author’s subject we now know genius is not an adjective fairly used to describe him.
11
@EWG
How exactly would he have done what is describe to better suit you...?
That section basically describes the Ethos that drove FDR to reform our society. They have learned since then and take careful pains not to promote proper piety morality or any thing that might lead to rational thinking in their children as that inevitably leads to reforming the systems that let this come to pass in favor of the people being exploited.
5
@EWG That's funny. A late lamented friend used to delight in repeating the adage "consistency is the hobgloblin of small minds."
Mr. Walker seems like a wonderful individual. It's just hard square the fundamental ideology of capitalism with the idea of a equal and just United States. In a world of finite resources, extreme wealth necessitates extreme poverty.
9
This is actually a fairly severe economic fallacy. The problem is that human beings can create resources. Our supply of clean water, for example --- a tangible thing, almost the prototype of a "finite resource" --- is much higher than it was 100 years ago. The same goes for our supply of food. By our labor, we actually modify and slacken the resource constraints we face.
It's true, in some sense, that there are limits on things like the amount of coal and oil, soil and iron, and so on. But we haven't hit them yet, and we might never; as things get scarcer, alternatives get more economical.
4
@JT It squares if you see our current lawless economy as it is. A well regulated capitalism worked just fine. Back then we encouraged small businesses and supported the idea that proprietary interest needs to be spread around. The idea of Amazon would have alarmed the Supreme Court to stop them dead in their tracks . . .
10
@JT
Then your idea of what capitalism is is limited.
1
Trickle down economics requires philanthropy. I don’t think corporations give enough away (given their negative impact on environment, race, social fabric). I’m glad we have smart people like Mr Walker taking care. He is quite an incredible human being, to be sure.
13
"Declaring himself a proud capitalist, he called for a capitalism that spread its wealth rather than concentrating it. In place of charity, he promised a push for justice."
This is a position that defies the laws of capital formation. Neither good intentions nor window-dressing designed to fool the ignorant can overcome those laws. Either capital concentrates or capital (as in the less competitive enterprise) fails.
And when capital fails another capitalist merely takes its place. The basis of any serious and lasting justice is the truth. This is the immutable truth. No route charted with nonsense and tired old nostrums will lead us out of the miasma of a system that has reached its end point.
As Marx clearly understood - capitalist relations of production (private ownership and the resultant drive to concentrate capital in ways that include military domination) are a constraint on the further development of the means of production (including the producers themselves).
The Ford Foundation and Mr. Walker base themselves on deception and fantasy. If Mr. Walker is serious he should leave the Foundation and become a socialist.
8
@Bob Thank you. Your comment demonstrates a clear understanding of both the mechanics, and philosophy, behind marxism and capitalism.
Sadly, in these 'united states', Americans cannot even fathom questioning if our economic model is failing/has failed. Media is reliant on ad revenue, media consolidation a gateway to status quo, and a woefully ignorant citizenry...all conspire to make sure what needs done will not be. Instead, we'll heap high praise on the likes of Mr. Walker, who may well have good intentions, but who is married to an undeniable hypocrisy. And, in that sense, a very real sense, Darren Walker becomes part of the problem - a perpetuation of a narrative that is, inherently, a lie.
5
At the time Darren Walker brought Pilobus to the University of Texas (they performed a marvelous dance called "Rain," sliding across the stage on plastic panels in an actual downpour, wearing minimal flesh colored undies), I was the dance critic for the Austin American-Stateman (not a full time job). I was already Darren's admirer--to meet him was to be his friend and root for him and take pleasure in his ascendency ever after. But only reading this did I realize *he* was responsible for the trouble I got in for reviewing "Rain." One of our readers, bless her heart, did not attend the show but saw a video promo on our local tv station. She called the editor-in-chief to complain. I got called onto his carpet, and to account. "Why are we promotin' nekkid dancin'?" he demanded. So it was thanks to Darren, the people connector, that I finally met our editor....
37
"...he set his sights on tackling inequality." Thank goodness we will all be the same some day
4
@aspblom
yeah: ashes to ashes.
1
@aspblom
"Tackling inequality" has nothing to do with "we will all be the same some day."
2
When all is said and done, isn't it true that most philanthropic giving is done by people in America who have the least to give! I believe the largesse of the middle class, working class, and actual poor people funds more good works than all this from the billionaire class. The real donors in America don't have their own pet projects or galas, and don't give enough to get tax breaks, they just keep the local food banks, eye glass programs, local sports teams for kids, drop in centers for homeless people, and meal on wheels for seniors "going." It's just not that important to be a billionaire, and life goes by in the blink of an eye.
51
@sues I agree 100%. As I've often said, I really dislike how and when the term 'philanthropist' is used.
Are you a billionaire who donates a meager 1% of their wealth to charity? Cha-ching! You my friend, are a 'philanthropist'.
However, if you are a home healthcare aide that donates 10% of their income to charity, sadly, you will never be recognized for your monetary sacrifice, by society at large.
66
That picture is appalling bad.
4
@Bob
Why? I think it's beautiful.
11
@Maria P.B.
Garish, derivative, puerile, and supercilious.
Whoever painted it, and bought it, have taste where they sit.
1
Henry Ford is rolling over in his grave.
Perhaps this is revenge for his antisemitism?
11
Immanuel Kant:
Having the resources to practice such beneficence as depends on the goods of fortune is, for the most part, a result of certain human beings being favored through the injustice of government, which introduces an inequality of wealth that makes others need their beneficence. Under such circumstances, does a rich man’s help to the needy, on which he so readily prides himself as something meritorious, really deserve to be called beneficence at all?
20
Thanks for the share. Rather profound & certainly timely in the time & space American Capitalism occupies today. Never has there been such an imbalance of power, wealth & command of resources as now. No indications of any evolution amongst those holding power even in the face of restless generations that will not stay underfoot for long as healthcare, affordable housing, etc all things necessary for a dignified existence disappear. Pity the children.
5
Admittedly this is a puff piece, but even so Mr. Walker seems to be absurdly self-absorbed. There was a time when Ford aspired to be a force for good in the world and met with at least some success. In recent decades it has become a force for elite symbolism -- people with free money just playing around. That's a terrible loss.
13
What is mission or goals of Ford Foundation? All of this seems a far cry from Henry Ford.
9
When Space Shuttles Challenger and Columbia were lost a black African American astronaut was among the dead lost on both craft.
Outside of entertainment, the military, politics, preaching and sports where else is that likely to happen in any private secular civil civic organization?
Philanthropy? Human rights?
4
Very interesting that some of the commenters here see Mr. Walker’s accomplishments through a negative lens. It wasn’t so long go that an African-American and/or gay individual would even be in this capacity to have this sphere of influence. When connections are made this level it alters lives. When Anna Deavere Smith gets her play funded that provides jobs and opportunities for actors, musicians, writers, technicians, and the audience gets to see a story that may inspire them to affect social change. One drop in the water produces a hundred ripples. If one is not so convinced of Mr. Walker’s story then be so inspired to do better than him.
56
Thanks for a nice, lighthearted, end of workweek article about a very accomplished, well-rounded man who can check-off more boxes on a demographic checklist than the general population. Bravo to Darren Walker :)
12
I'm not sure who said this: 'When I give food to the poor, they call me a saint. When I ask why they are poor, they call me a communist." I think it was a Latin American advocate of liberation theology.
It doesn't sound as if Mr. Walker is going to be called a communist any time soon. But he sounds like a breath of fresh air in the philanthropic community. Shaking things up a bit.
What we need though, in my opinion, is higher tax rates on the rich and powerful. Like what Bernie Sanders is calling for and why Bernie gets called a communist. He asks why there are so many poor. He also asks why the wealthy are so obscenely rich.
72
While this article presented a rare peek behind the curtain of how things work in the philanthropy world, I must question why, more than once, the author felt the need to state that this leader is a gay, black man?
Would it make a difference otherwise? I think not. He's doing what his inner drive tells him is right, and doing so deliberately so as to set the future up for more good.
To emphasize that he is gay, that he is black, and a man only lessens the true value of those who are gay or black or a man.
I felt this was a patronizing technique that diminished the value of the message he's trying to advance.
Until we can move beyond 'who' the person is, in some feeble attempt to make the person seem even more unique, we are bound to racism and sexism.
14
@reid
Your response is an example of the enjoyment I get from reading the NYT. The article itself is a joy to read and your analysis enhances it allowing me to think deeper about what it says.
5
@reid Perhaps because the personal is political? Where you stand makes a difference in what you are (more) able to see?
3
@reid. I find myself frequently thinking along the same lines as you. Frequently identifying the demographic characteristic of a person simply undercuts what the person does. Curiously, I don't see this problem in this case. Perhaps it's because Mr. Walker seems like such a trailblazer. In fact I'd love to know how he managed to avoid the self-defeating psychology of the "outsider."
3
What a fun read! I am so pleased to find out Darren Walker exists and what he is trying to do.
Also, I was wary about reading the comments-unnecessary, as far as I read.
Thanks to all for presenting so many points of view in such a civil manner. Thought-provoking. I saved both to read again and again.
13
Walker used his acumen and skill to do very well for himself, for which I am glad. He deserves all of his success. However, I don't "get" the breathless adoration of this article. Walker has done well to help along a few worthy projects, but little that deserves the tone of unrestrained admiration. Really, whose lives have been changed except his own and a handful of of other talented people?
21
Not convinced by this article. If you want real social change, you won’t find it in limited charity and philanthropy. Instead, look to profit making businesses that are disrupting commerce and impacting social change in a positive, sustainable and highly scalable way. Philanthropy is tiny in comparison. Give it the respect it really deserves.
7
@Darren McConnell. You mean like Amazon?
2
"Andrew Carnegie in 1889, took inequality as a mark of progress..." Unfortunately, he most likely did - but that is so mindnumbingly absurd, it sounds like something Ionesco wrote in of his plays. I appreciate his endowments, but the people who worked for him worked in a hellish landscape, risking life and limb and often losing them as well, with only two holidays (Christmas and the 4th of July), with not only adults but children working under him as well - working 12-hour days. They had no time for anything but work. There were dogs that lived better.
HIs workers were part of a union, and he did engage in humanitarian efforts creating a retirement fund.
But many of his workers didn't live long enough to enjoy it.
And there had been a strike in 1889 that brought in private detectives, with guns, to break it. A lot of the strikers were killed.
This was the norm back then. Rich people like Andrew Carnegie are to this day admired for their philanthropy. I love his museum, I love the libraries, I love the contributions to the arts.
But knowing that it was all built on the backs of the bruised has led me to believe that if we want to "make America great again" then THAT is not progress. That's a horror show.
Make America progressive. Not oppressive.
51
I'd like to add that Mr. Walker is doubly brave and skilled, because the world in which he is operating is often resistant to the self-reflection he is encouraging. In my experience, people with a lot of money don't want to feel guilty for having it, nor for gaming the system, so they don't take well to, for example, challenges to nepotism, or various other forms of push-back. After all, the story is that they're being generous, right?
Good for Darren, and good for Ford and those who support him for recognizing his contribution!
17
This article has been a real eye opener. I had always just assumed that the rich used donations, foundations, and endowments as a tax dodge or to ease their conscience. Turns out it's so much more. Besides being a bonafide investment tool it also robs the tax doles of much needed revenue which in turns makes their philanthropy even more vital. The whole thing is just self serving and self perpetuating. It's like this; Let's say your house is on fire and out of nowhere comes a firetruck to douse the flames. You're so grateful you don't notice that the firetruck is owned by the same person who is going to rebuild your house and oh by the way... they're the ones who set your house on fire in the first place.
41
@Tom Scott With all due respect, any fair-minded person reading this article about Mr. Walker and his outlook and accomplishments must find your analogy inapt and unfair. It is also insulting to a good man.
Every deduction or exemption in the tax code "robs...much needed revenue" in your words but a flat tax is even more unfair for the working and lower middle classes.
9
Good luck to him!
8
According to the Ford Foundation's financial report of 2016 they spend over $120 million (in one year) on operational expenses. Huge number. From the looks of his office, the renovation, and incomes of top employees, if they want to reduce income inequality, the foundation should start with their own top employees. To put in perspective, although the Gates foundation spends almost twice as much on operational expenses, they are making almost 8 times as much in grants and need travel expenses to distribute benefits to more remote areas of the world. Although they do a lot of good work, sounds like the biggest beneficiary of the Ford Foundation is Mr Walker's social status.
27
The focus on operating expenses is a red herring that has been used to unfairly criticize nonprofit organizations for years. The real question is what are the results? The fact that the Gates Foundation appears to be more efficient that the Ford Foundation tells us nothing about what really matters -- the impact of their respective programs.
And, if you don't think that acquiring and leveraging social status is important to any person who is attempting to make social change, whether it's Darron Walking or the underpaid director of a local child care program, then you're living in a strange bubble.
26
@Michael P Miller I agree results matter and accountability matters. It's going to be way easier to measure the Gates results in terms of millions of lives saved due to vaccinations, and disease prevention programs, etc. than it will be to gauge how much social impact you get from buying a pieces of art on income inequality. Usually the folks who don't watch their expenses, focus on their building renovations, etc., are less focused on results. Social connections usually matter more when it comes to attaining political/financial power or raising money (which they don't seem to do). I'm sure Mr Walker would be a successful politician.
5
I'm so happy the wealthy have a gay, black man they can point to as their do-gooder. It must make them feel connected and urbane while they "come and go speaking of Michelangelo". Selling and buying paintings is not a easy as it sounds, just ask the Rockefellers; or was it the Epsteins? I get them confused.
8
Darren Walker is a mensch.
He importantly reminds us that social justice is economic justice, as Martin Luther King told us.
The three richest Americans – Bill Gates, Jeff Bezos and Warren Buffett – own as much wealth as the bottom half of the US population, or 160 million people.
The world's 26 richest people own as much as poorest half of humanity, or 3.8 billion people.
America and the world need to stop coddling the rich and show more humanity toward the unrich.
92
@Socrates Shocking stats. Is a philanthropy lottery in the rarefied strata of Manhattan high culture a model to be replicated? I keep thinking of Jimmy Stewart's line in a work written in the 1930s: " . . . the idea of artists depending upon a patron Lady Bountiful has more or less gone out."
5
@Blair I think that was the Philadelphia Story, he was talking to Katherine Hepburn who was a wealthy confused nice heiress.
1
@sues She was trying to use her largesse to fund his art. Something in the 1930s sensibility recoiled at that.
2
Nowhere in the article does the relevant concept of fungibilty appear. Philanthropies should not be financing public goods which the government could be financing. When they do, they relieve the government from that obligation and thus add little to general welfare. George Soros abides by the criterion of non-fungibilty and is viscerally hated.
Perhaps Darren should connect with George?
13
Once again the basis for story is that all money belongs to the government and they let us keep some of it. The world is on its ear.
1
@John griffin Once again, here's yet another libertarian/conservative who doesn't think the roads, police departments, public schools, and military that my family and I help pay for, to his and his own business's private benefit, are something he has any responsibility to contribute to.
Another libertarian who thinks that perhaps Coca-Cola, Amazon, United Healthcare, Wells Fargo, Exxon, Apple, Goldman Sachs, and all the other "maximizing shareholder value at any cost" corporations will on their own initiative miraculously turn an about-face and gather together for the common good of us all before they eat the world alive.
The idea that "all money belongs to the government" was nowhere to be found in the article. The idea that mega-philanthropists who built their fortunes on the backs of the American public have a responsibility to contribute to that public good through taxes, rather than their own pet philanthropies, is.
Look to your soul, John.
36
I am all in favor of charitable contributions (who isn't?) but as the article suggests, it shouldn't be tax deductible.
With the change in the tax laws, nearly 90% of individuals now take the standard deduction meaning they can no longer deduct charity. It is only the wealthy and elite foundations that can get the rest of us to subsidize their priorities with our tax dollars. One more way the rich get to maintain more influence than us regular folk.
33
Lots of stuff in this article that people could stand to read. Rich people don't give because they're good. They give because they hate taxes so much they'd rather throw it in the trash than contribute to the running of the government. Charitable giving allows them to aggrandize themselves while throwing money at whatever cause their spouse is into. People who don't know how deductions work think it means they have empathy.
Any good accomplished by tax-deductible charitable giving is counterbalanced by the taxes not paid. I work for a nonprofit that does a lot of good, but the donors take the good feelings they get from contributing to charity, turn around and vote for Republicans, telling themselves that their private contributions are what get things done rather than government. But paradoxically, the politics they support is responsible for the destroyed American landscape that makes my job necessary.
239
@sedanchair
While I sympathize with the anger represented by this comment, it is simplistic and uninformed. Very rich people use loopholes to avoid paying their fair share of taxes in any case. Middle-level income people generally donate to charity usually not to exploit tax deductions but because they choose to support local and community non-profits like food banks.
By the same logic and impulse, mid-level charitable funds --often known as "family foundations" and often administered through large and small "community foundations" -- while perhaps taking some assets off the tax rolls, are often run by people who are more than happy to pay their fair share of taxes on regular income while at the same time providing a mechanism to support local and community organizations in a direct, engaged fashion that otherwise (via taxation, e.g..) would not be possible. These connections serve to create community networks and to foster mutual responsibility of stakeholders as well as strategic planning.
16
Well said! Altruism takes a back seat to political advantage.
5
I think you’re both right!
6
Interesting article about Mr. Walker. Many thanks to him for his efforts to make philanthropy more effective. I also grew up poor and it was Medicaid that made such a difference to our family in the mid 1960s. My parents struggled with 5 children and jobs that paid poorly. However, all of us graduated from college (the great social equalizer back then) and two of us have advanced degrees. I choose to work as a social worker with low income people helping them access food, housing, health care and employment. I worry that people are experiencing a sort of "poverty of spirit" and feel deeply ashamed of their low income status during these times. Mr Walker is right about the fact that we have to beg donors and companies to help our families. We beg for grants to keep our programs going. Many 501c 3 non profits endlessly chase down funding sources. I wish it was easier to receive funding. There is no question that our programs would not survive without help from donors both large and small.
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It’s so deeply impacting to have a charitable foundation do work that really makes a difference in addressing diversity and inequity! He sounds a remarkable man with an ambitious goal (and the resources to make a difference in achieving that). There are so many non-profits that are divisive that this is a true breath of fresh air.
And while Mr. Walker sounds absolutely remarkable, in one area I think he’s going a bit too far. I’d also love to take him on in a gumbo cook-off. I fear he’s letting his burning-tire-roux go a bit too wild!
5
The most striking feature of this article is that here is a person you would love to know and talk to. It is one think to read about him, but another to experience him. Have you thought of featuring him on times podcasts in a series of conversations about any subject that he would be interested in. I would love to have the experience, which, in this venue could be, so to speak, staged, of „speaking“ with him one on one with the interviewer acting as my proxy. Mr. Walker sounds much to interesting to just read about, it seems like he just needs to be experienced....and by a lot more regular folks.
14
I really want to see major philanthropic funds support and use their influence to call for systemic change so that poverty can be prevented in the first place.
I will know when philanthropy has really changed when these philanthropic leaders publicly oppose tax cuts for the rich, and get behind raising the minimum wage, collective bargaining rights, affordable housing and expansion of free health care. Silence on these evidence based major drivers of poverty and inequality is consent. Their benefactors simply don’t support measures to prevent poverty so much of this new philanthropy stuff is very hollow.
11
An interesting article on an interesting man. I wish him well in his attempts to change philanthropy, though I think frustration and .....maybe, reality, will cause burnout long before his gradual-change approach makes much headway.
Advice, criticism, admiration- surely he’s weathered enough of all that, so I’ll just add- so nice to see one more man NOT wearing a tie!
7
The government does have a say in your charitable donations. A donation is not tax deductible unless it was made to a 501(c)(3) charity - a designation approved by the IRS.
The author's explanation of how charitable deductions work is misleading.
12
I’m an artist and a social warrior. Sorry, but enhancing the art scene is not hitting a broad target of social or economic change. In fact it is part of the problem. He is just supporting the power elite art structure. And I’m sure it is oh so much fun!
Artists will always struggle and the best will rise to the top on their own. Don’t give me money, I will survive. Give that money to those who won’t survive. Spend that money wisely, and not on fancy parties.
This article posits that philanthropy needs to change. With this kind of change we ain’t changing at all!
44
Thank you for this wonderful article and introduction to Mr. Walker. We need more people like him in this world.
9
"As Ford funded indigenous people trying to reclaim their lands from developers, its biggest resource — an endowment of $13 billion — invested in industries that mined or logged that land."
This is, at the same time, both absolutely shocking and exactly what one would expect. I am just surprised that they chose Mr. Walker but thank goodness they did.
9
Get something done for the homeless, build affordable housing project but use designer Bajarke Ingels for design
3
@CathyK Hilarious.
How could this writer be so obtuse as to make the fake-news claim that the tax deduction for a charitable gift means the government is contributing to that gift and should have a say in it? That's like saying if the retain price of a men's shirt at Macy's is $100, the wholesale cost of the shirt is $40, and Macy's is having a 25%-off sale, Macy's should be able to direct what style and color shirt I may wear in exchange for giving me the $25 cash gift, when in fact Macy's still got $75 of my money and a $35 profit.
8
Thanks for bringing attention to this. For a second (actually more, until I saw your letter) I was fooled into thinking that it was an interesting perspective. But then you pointed out the oft-forgot point: Whose money is it anyway?
5
@SHerman SHerman. If you make a $10M donation to the Metropolitan Opera for renovations on their multi-billion dollar home at Lincoln Center, which benefits primarily a few wealthy people anyway, that is $10M that is not being taxed to help pay for our children's public schools. Nothing against the Met or opera.
It may be "your" money, but it is OUR laws, our government's laws, that allow such a donation to be tax-deductible and thus incentivizes the ultra-rich to make donations to their own pet projects using money that would otherwise be taxed.
This is a timely, nuanced, and thought-provoking article.
12
@ Wes: Right: so lets make sure that charitable $’s go towards only the most beneficial organizations.... like memberships to Mar al Lago? Particularly relevant, considering who the previous family of the estate was....
2
This wonderful article calls Mr Walker a “Texan” but then mention ties to Louisiana - he was born and spent early formative years in Lafayette and we are rightfully proud to call him a Lousiana native!
5
Darren Walker obviously is a very intelligent, good man. He recognizes the tension between charitable largesse and the perpetuation of wealth inequality, when middle-class tax dollars are used to finance gifts to projects near and dear to the rich.
The solution, if there is one, needs to be more than a piecemeal focus on promoting the creations of selected poor people, although that is much better than doing nothing to address the problem.
8
The commenters saying that this piece is hagiography should realize that many foundation chief executives are not as productive, generous with their time, or accretive as Mr. Walker. Accretive, because he not only fulfills and surpasses outcomes from an intrinsic role at Ford, but extrinsic: his influence, altruism and impact are extensive, exponential even, as he connects and creates entrees for some of the most gifted people in nonprofit leadership today. If the happiness gurus are right, Mr. Walker is the epitome of someone living with purpose, pride and pleasure. Good for him, and for those he serves.
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Thanks for the article. As we think about the contradictions and challenges in philanthropy, let’s also consider that there is far more to philanthropy than what Ford, Carnegie, Gates, et al are doing. There are also some 750+ Community Foundations in our country that invest an estimated $5.5 Billion annually in important work to improve our communities. And this is still the tip of the iceberg when you add non-profits, churches, and neighborliness.
Foundations both large and small are often far more nimble and effective in shaping needed changes. I don’t begrudge any foundation for working with pharma, energy, or financial companies to get results. The cost of medicines in underdeveloped countries, the availability of clean water, levels of education - all have made remarkable improvements that otherwise would not have happened without philanthropy’s role.
Please don’t suggest that diverting funds from foundations to governments through tax law changes would achieve better outcomes. There is no doubt that we need tax law changes and economic design changes to address staggering wealth inequality. That’s a separate issue.
Instead let’s celebrate, improve and grow the work that we all do when we donate our money and time to causes that matter, as Mr Walker has spent his life doing.
18
"At Ford, he made changes. He sold the foundation’s blue chip art collection and used the money to buy 320 newer works, many by female artists or artists of color."
This just seems like he purposefully trashed the value of their endowment, to redistribute that value to a few special-demographic artists... Wouldn't that money be better off spent on actual charitable causes, or to keep the blue-chip store of value for future use?
11
@asdfj Why do you assume he did not get equal value? I'm quite sure in an organization like the Ford Foundation, others were involved in this kind of decision. In any case, isn't investing in new artists part of their mission?
11
@mh12345
"The Ford Foundation is an American private foundation with the mission of advancing human welfare"
Do you genuinely believe that simply buying art from artists achieves that mission most effectively?
And I assume that the newly purchased works are not equal to the sold art because of the "blue chip" description vs the latter's description focusing on the demographic of the artist and not the art's value, and how the transaction was framed as an act of charity itself...
4
It is time to revisit the entire concept of tax deductions for charitable giving. Abuses abound in virtually every arena. Churches that are more social clubs than charities, tax exempt think tanks that promote a narrow political agenda, hospitals that pay exorbitant salaries to their administrators, colleges that amass huge endowments and yet charge ridiculous tuition are all examples of abuses in the world of philanthropy.
A good start would be to rescind the tax exempt status of any institution that pays any employee more than the stated salary of the President of the US (currently $400M/year). College presidents, football coaches, pastors with private jets should enter their respective fields motivated by the mission, not as an opportunity for obscene wealth.
For this reason, I limit my giving to organizations limiting salaries to the above guidelines and suggest others do likewise.
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@Vink I think you mean $400,000 (k) per year, not $400 million.
5
This is a nice profile but it’s a little irritating that it outright states that Mr. Walker is the one with the checkbook making these decisions when in fact the foundation has a board that actually makes decisions and a very large staff that supports the work Mr. Walker leads. Philanthropy is already a mystifying world to many people and this article does not help.
79
@QTCatch10, My experience is that in well functioning foundations, nonprofits and corporations the board almost always ratifies recommendations of the chief executive. Your point about the support staff is fair but this article is about Mr. Walker rather than the Ford Foundation per se.
9
I think the article is wonderful and informative. Not once did the article applaud the management of the Ford endowment vision or applaud its vision. Exploring how they made the choice would have added a lot. The NYT should realize that in this age of polarized society allowing the establishment to take credit for proactive philanthropy is important. Too bad!!!!
5
Money put to good use ….save our democracy.
Great fear of government officials... job loss.
Someone needs to protect and focus on the officials who have been fired for standing up to The Con Man in Chief.
No one is protecting the whistle blowers or the officials who have spent a lifetime in serving this country like McCabe who opened a case against the criminal residing in our White House. Officials of all positions and rank are afraid to act and report illegal and unethical activities.
Tom Steyer and Bloomberg and other like minded millionaires should establish an organization to provide monetary assistance for the whistleblowers and others who would standup /report Trump illegal activities throughout our government.
Right now officials are simply fired or drum out of their job by Trump and his cult.... people are afraid to speak up because they have to provide for their families(no job, no pay, no food , no house , no car , no health insurance). It is extremely hard to fight against a criminal enterprise led by Trump, McConnell and Barr.
National media must evaluate this dilemma and realize we are definitely sliding towards a dictatorship when Barr is investigating the CIA and FBI per the instructions of the Criminal in Chief .
The law says IRS shall provide tax records to the Chairman of the House Ways and Means committee.
So maybe an IRS official (IAW law a lawful act) would turn over Trump's records if they did not have to worry about their job.
8
Great article about a fascinating man. Sadly, the “mobility escalator” that helped him achieve his goals has shrunk year after year as capital has become concentrated into fewer and fewer hands. Unless American citizens get woke to who is starving them of power and money, this country will have less and less citizens with this rich a perspective on life.
39
Can’t we just stick to the classic usage, “awaken” over “get woke”? I, for one, wish we would.
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@Rene Pedraza Del Prado
woke is dope
1
Love it! You go Mr. Walker. Talk about a real "Walker, Texas Ranger". It is wonderful to read these pieces showcasing AAs and other people of color, and people with different backgrounds in positions of influence and power. In a time when so much power is corrupting it's good to see people on the side of fairness and justice -- for all. Ok, I am completely aware how that sounded like an intro for a superhero movie, but "right is right".
5
A wonderful article. Thank you. I highly recommend the book mentioned by the author, Winners Take All.
5
Foundations in general do not seem to be doing much.
The Gates Foundation is more of a business that is involved in part, with pharmaceutical companies worldwide. You are being naive if you think Gates wants to share the wealth, they could be doing so much more for this country. They are not.
How many are homeless in Seattle? Seattle, one of the richest cities in the US, Amazon 163 billion, Gates 103 billion. At least, every kid in this country should have a computer, start a foundation for life by contributing directly to our youth. Gates could donate the computers, Amazon could ship them. Elon musk wants us to have free satellite internet, encourage him. No need for 30 people sitting around a conference table deciding how to get more tax looping with complicated foundations.
If the rich really wanted to help the poor it would be easy, they have trouble analyzing and recognizing the real problem, greed. When this country is strong, the world is stronger.
105
@s.whether The Gates Foundation's ill-informed promotion of charter schools has done a huge amount of damage. They've done a lot of good and saved a lot of lives as well, but it shouldn't be up to the whims of a billionaire who knows about business, coding and very little else to decide where those billions go. All of that donated money should have already been received by the government as taxes.
20
@s.whether
When America is strong the rest of the world in trouble. America has always been the largest problem on this planet.
3
Fred Armisen needs to play him in the biopic.
7
@Sarcasmia
Can you imagine the histrionics about racism that would cause? It would be hilarious, I support this idea 100%
3
Mr. Walker is what makes America great!
Thank you, Mr. Walker.
13
The right way to do this is to re raise the corporate tax rate to say app. 30% to offset the trillion dollar deficits being accumulating every year on the backs of the taxpayer by corporate welfare.
If companies balk at this then eliminate the massive tax breaks they get. A majority of Fortune 500 biggest companies do not pay any tax at all. You can't have it both ways.
Also, raising taxes would be an incentive to give more to charity, since this will encourage more companies to give since it will be a tax advantage to them.
62
Change is hard. The world is complex and messy an contradictions abound. Darren Walker is doing his best to straddle those contradictions and bring a sense of community and understanding to otherwise strange bedfellows. He’s extraordinary. And he is changing the world with his charm, intelligence and insistence on equality and diversity. Much continued success to him.
124
@Bella123 Mr. Walker does deserve credit for directing the Ford Foundation to make more general operating as opposed to restricted grants.
4
The article seems to lapse into hagiography. Buying up works of artists he favors and promoting his friends is nice. But what I can’t see is whether Walker and the Ford Foundation are actually doing a good job.
Measuring success by grants awarded and money spent is easy. Have they actually moved the needle in a measurable way with things that matter and are consistent with their mission?
152
@Alberto … Walker's statement at the end of the article is him saying he is aware of the shortfalls inherent in the old foundation structures and the need for changes to those structures.
“I hope I’ve brought a sense to the organization that we have to walk more humbly, that we actually don’t have the answers, the answers are in communities and in the people we are investing in. They are the key to unlocking solutions.”
18
What a wonderful article about an interesting and magnificent individual!
At a time when it’s hard to read the news some days, it is so wonderful to read GOOD NEWS.
You’ve put a smile on my face. I too lost my best friend and dear spouse this year. And I feel as Mr. Walker does: I was just so fortunate to spend nearly 52 years with him.
Thanks to the reporter, Mr. Leland and to the Times for covering so many different areas.
69
@TheraP I just wanted to say I am so very sorry for your loss. I echo your sentiment that it is refreshing to read good news in this day and age. My best to you, your spouse was very lucky indeed to have you.
6
We need to change the tax laws for charities. When rich people earn money, they donate it to charities which they control and write off the contribution from their taxes so as to avoid paying income taxes. When I earn a dollar, I pay close to 50% in taxes. The money in these foundation should be confiscated by the Federal government and used to pay down the debt.
27