New Law Merits Whole-Hearted Support

To the Editor:

It is rare that I agree with Leslie Lenkowsky about anything. But I congratulate him on his excellent column “Foundations and the Press: Forging Better Ties” (November 19).

Mr. Lenkowsky writes: “If philanthropy wants to do better, it will ultimately have to be more honest about what it knows or doesn’t know, what it is trying or not trying, and which of its undertakings have succeeded or failed.” I could not have written a better column on advising foundations how to do better with journalists and the public at large.

I disagree, however, with his half-hearted attitude toward new legislation that makes Internal Revenue Service Forms 900-PF much more available than ever before to grant seekers, journalists, and the public. The legislation is a major milestone in advancing foundation accountability.

The National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy — which, along with Independent Sector and the Council on Foundations, actively supported the legislation — feels that the law will finally place foundations in the sunlight to which government and business have long been exposed. That is a healthy thing, indeed, for the philanthropic sector.

Although many foundations voluntarily publish annual reports and some make that and other information available on the Internet, the 990-PF remains the first and principal information document on foundations. It contains key information that is nowhere else universally available, such as listing each and every grantee, grant amounts, grant purposes, and grantee locations for the year. That it is a less-than-perfect document — even when filled out completely — is hardly reason to be half-hearted in support of its being made more accessible to all.

Robert O. Bothwell
President
National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy
Washington