A speech given by Carl J. Schramm, president and CEO of the Kauffman Foundation, for the University of Southern California Center on Philanthropy and Public Policy Distinguished Speakers Series in April, 2008.
From the introduction:
Private foundations today have an extraordinary opportunity to expand human welfare. They seemingly are held back, however, by the lack of a coherent sense of purpose. This situation arises for two interrelated reasons. First, foundations have failed to relate to the changing nature of the American economy. Second, unconscious of their economic role, foundations have developed a management culture that frequently works to close off innovative thinking. Too often, in fact, those in the world of philanthropy conceive of foundation management as somehow separate from a foundation's mission among the institutions that make up civil society. This paper argues that once we begin to think about management principles in the context of the foundation’s institutional role within democratic capitalism, a new direction may be considered.
