April 18, 2007 | Read Time: 1 minute
The anonymous author of Philanthropybeat has some strong criticism of the agenda for the forthcoming Council on Foundations annual conference.
The conference’s theme is “Philanthropy and the Challenges of Our Time: Making a Difference at Home and Abroad.”
But the author says that the agenda for the conference includes almost no discussion about the war in Iraq.
“COF President and CEO Steve Gunderson couldn’t even be bothered to pull together a one-sided panel discussion involving his fellow Republicans Bill Kristol and Ann Coulter, moderated by Brit Hume,” the blogger writes.
The lack of discussion about the war and philanthropy’s role in it shows that the foundation world is out of touch with — or unwilling to confront — some of the key issues of our time, the writer continues.
“They’ve turned their backs on one of the tenets of private foundations: providing an independent voice unfettered by government or profit-making influences,” Philanthropybeat’s author writes. “That COF can’t hold even a single open discussion about the war in Iraq simply confirms how foundations have lost their way entirely when it comes to looking honestly at how government policies impact the lives of those individuals they claim to help.”
Should foundations play a more active role in the debate about America’s policy in Iraq? Click on the comments link just below this posting to share your thoughts.
