As Bloomberg Tops Our Philanthropy 50, New Questions About Intersection of Politics and Charitable Giving

As Michael Bloomberg takes the top spot on the Chronicle’s Philanthropy 50, our annual ranking of donors who give the most, fresh attention has been focused on the way his giving and his run for president intersect.

Such concerns have long been raised about Bloomberg, especially when he was mayor of New York, and have intensified again because of his race to become the Democratic candidate for president.

The latest discussion among philanthropy experts and others last week was touched off after the Intercept, an online publication, reported that Facebook advertisements paid for by “Mike Bloomberg 2020″ referred to his substantial donations to charity. One such ad stated, “Mike is planning his next round of climate-crisis spending. Tell him where you think his money should go.”

Beth Kingsley, a lawyer who represents nonprofits, said the Facebook ads were probably an attempt to collect contact information from potential political supporters, “raising all sorts of questions” about whether Bloomberg’s foundation had effectively become a part of his campaign.

“It’s hard to say that the charity isn’t somehow engaged,” Kingsley said.

Foundations are prohibited from partisan activity, and political campaigns have to be careful about using their money in ways that benefit the public, not the interests of a single person for, say, election to higher office in this case.

Personal Wealth

A complicating factor in Bloomberg’s case is that he is self-financing his campaign. It’s unprecedented to have someone with such a big philanthropic track record and such a big campaign war chest, both coming from his own checkbook. President Trump, for example, is raising money for his re-election campaign from millions of Americans.

Legal experts acknowledge that this unusual circumstance means there are more than the usual gray areas when it comes to what might be considered improper use of either philanthropic funds or campaign funds.

Ciara Torres-Spelliscy, a law professor at Stetson University, notes that it’s possible the ads could be seen as an improper “personal benefit” use of a charity by touting his generosity as an individual. That would be a potential violation of federal campaign law.

Whether it’s a problem for the foundation is another question.

In an article published Monday in the Philanthropy Daily Blog, William Schambra, former director of the Hudson Institute’s Bradley Center for Philanthropy and Civic Renewal, asked whether the action is a “high-minded effort to engage the public in democratic grant making,” or “the illegal use of private foundation dollars to promote a political candidacy?”

Schambra and others have pointed to Bloomberg’s actions as mayor of New York, when he asked the Carnegie Corporation of New York to funnel his donations anonymously to arts and cultural groups. Though he asked the foundation to keep his name quiet, it became an open secret that the gifts were from Bloomberg, and nonprofits that benefited often promoted the mayor’s political fortunes.

In January, Atlantic magazine pointed out that those donations and others he and his company made have helped advance his political interests. And they noted that many of the people working at Bloomberg-funded nonprofits on issues such as gun control, climate change, and city innovation are now working for the campaign. The article also noted that corporate leaders wanted to curry favor with the mayor so they often contributed to the same groups he supported.

Kingsley said the use of Bloomberg’s personal wealth to engage in philanthropy over the years that may pay political dividends down the road — such as giving money to cities and then winning the endorsement of mayors — may present an appearance problem, but not a legal one.

“I don’t see it as a legal issue,” Kingsley said. “It’s an appearance issue, and maybe an ethical issue.”

That appearance issue is one Schambra worries about, too. He says the problem “posed by the porous border between Bloomberg philanthropies and Mike Bloomberg 2020 is that it may well contribute to the further erosion of public trust in the charitable sector.” While legal experts may say that the political efforts are by the book, he writes, “the everyday voter, I suspect still clings to the quaint notion that foundations and nonprofits should somehow be different from and better than politics.”