Foundation Grant Youth

In "American Foundations, Mark Dowie argues that organized philanthropy is on the verge of an evolutionary shift that will transform America's nearly 50,000 foundations from covert arbiters of knowledge and culture to overt mediators of public policy and aggressive creators of new orthodoxy. He questions the wisdom of placing so much power at the disposal of nondemocratic institutions.As American wealth expands, old foundations such as Ford, Carnegie, Rockefeller, Pew, and MacArthur have grown exponentially, while newer trusts such as Mott, Johnson, Packard, Kellogg, Hughes, Annenberg, Hewlett, Duke, and Gates have surpassed them. Foundation assets now total close to $400 billion. Though this is a tiny sum compared to corporate and government treasuries, and foundation grants still total less than 10 percent of contributions made by individuals, foundations have power and influence far beyond their wealth. Their influence derives from the conditional nature of their grant making, their power from its leverage.Unlike previous historians of philanthropy who have focused primarily on the grant maker, Dowie examines foundations from the public's perspective. He focuses on eight key areas in which foundations operate: education, science, health, environment, food, energy, art, and human services. He also looks at their imagination, or lack thereof, and at the strained relationship between American foundations and American democracy.Dowie believes that foundations deserve to exist and that they can assume an increasingly vital role in American society, but only if they transform themselves from private to essentially public institutions. The reforms he proposes to make foundations moreresponsive to pressing social problems and more accountable to the public will almost certainly start an important national debate.

A comprehensive, step-by-step guide to grant writing Webster's New World Grant Writing Handbook walks readers through every step of the grant writing process-from defining the project and getting and interpreting a foundation's guidelines to submitting and following up on the grant application. With clear, concise explanations, thorough coverage, illustrative examples, and expert advice, this helpful, complete resource gives grant writers all the information and guidance they need to succeed. Sara Deming Wason (Syracuse, NY) holds a master's degree in nonprofit management from Syracuse University's Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs. Wason has over 20 years' experience in nonprofit administration, including the last 10 years in higher education development. She is currently Executive Director of Corporate and Foundation Relations at Syracuse University where she is responsible for corporate foundation fundraising.