Can Traditional Foundations Compete in a Changing World?

The question seems to be floating about all the philanthropy conferences and charity blogs: Can old-line traditional foundations compete in the changing world of philanthropy?

But the better question might be this: Should they compete at all?

At the high-powered Milken Institute Global Conference, Don Randel, president of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, had some stunning advice for the well-heeled would-be philanthropists:

"Don't go hire a bunch of foundation bureaucrats to run it for you...it gets to be a business of self-perpetuation, with more and more layers of hoops to jump through to provide every last grant. And then grant managers begin to think it's their money."

Coupled with the headlines generated by social enterprise and the results-oriented, big-ticket philanthropy of high tech billionaires from Gates to Skoll, Randel’s sentiment has almost become the conventional wisdom in philanthropy.

Read more from Tom on the topic and the wealth of comments this post engendered.

Tom Watson