November 24, 2008 | Read Time: 1 minute
Should philanthropy be top down or bottom up?
Both, answers Paul Brest, president of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, in Menlo Park, Calif.
During recent discussions about his book, Money Well Spent: A Strategic Plan for Smart Philanthropy, Mr. Brest has been taken to task for promoting what his critics call a top-down approach — that is, ignoring small charities and “community-based groups,” he writes on The Huffington Post.
But such organizations “are only a small part of the nonprofit sector,” he writes. “Regional, national, and international organizations concerned with civil rights, education, the environment, and global poverty, and hundreds of other issues play equally important roles in making the world a better place.”
What’s more, while some advocate giving to small groups without restrictions, Mr. Brest says that donors should have some oversight and support nonprofit strategies they know to work.
“So if you let a hundred flowers bloom, you need to discover which deserve nourishment and which turn out to be weeds,” he writes.
Read The Chronicle’s online discussion with Mr. Brest and a recent opinion article he wrote with the co-author of his book, Hal Harvey, president of the ClimateWorks Foundation.
What do you think of Mr. Brest’s ideas? Click on the comments link to share your views.
