Opinion: Risks Come With Rise of ‘Crony Philanthropy’

Concerns about crony capitalism—well-connected interests using the political system for business benefit—can increasingly be extended to corporate philanthropy as projects driven by elected officials seek private dollars for social causes, according to a Forbes contributor.

In his philanthropy blog on the Forbes Web site, Howard Husock, a vice president of the nonprofit Manhattan Institute, cites efforts such as the White House’s My Brother’s Keeper initiative to aid black and Hispanic men and the Mayor’s Fund to Advance the City of New York. Donors to such programs “have a chance to put themselves in the good graces” of the politicians directing them, he says.

“This combination … of public and private money will likely do some good” in addressing worthwhile goals, Mr. Husock writes. “At the same time, one must ask, when an Administration faces hard choices about the extent and nature of regulation or even law enforcement, whether the fact that a corporation has contributed to a cause favored by a chief executive will matter.”