Foundations Leveraged Conservative Political Change

Everyone is talking about Jeffrey Toobin's new book, The Nine: Inside the Secret World of the Supreme Court. Toobin describes how, during the Reagan era, a group of law students established the immensely influential Federalist Society to "...serve as a platform to discuss and advocate conservative ideas in legal thought." (The Society's first faculty advisor at the University of Chicago was Antonin Scalia.) According to The Nine:

Recognizing the intellectual potential of the society, conservative organizations like the John M. Olin and Scaife foundations made important early grants that allowed the Federalists to establish a full-time office in Washington. The Reagan administration began hiring Federalist members as staffers and, of course, appointing them as judicial nominees, with Bork and Scalia as the most famous examples.

The John M. Olin Foundation closed its doors in November, 2005, but at that time was only giving away $3 million a year. Scaife, on the other hand, is a "leading financier of conservative causes."

Seems to me that these early grants, whether or not you agree with their intent, were highly leveraged. While the world of think tanks and policy are often a bit obscure for average donors, they also demonstrate the fact that placing the right bet at the right time offers the potential for disproportionate return.

Susan Herr