Chronicle of Philanthropy - MacArthur SF DA Pitfalls
webThis opinion piece is only tangentially relevant to AI safety; it may have minor relevance for discussions of philanthropic funding dynamics in AI governance or the risks of private foundations influencing public policy institutions.
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Summary
This Chronicle of Philanthropy opinion piece examines the risks and complications that arise when private foundations fund government programs, using the MacArthur Foundation's support of the San Francisco District Attorney's office as a case study. It explores tensions between philanthropic independence and government accountability, and the potential for mission drift or political entanglement.
Key Points
- •Private foundations funding government programs risk blurring lines between philanthropic independence and public accountability.
- •The MacArthur Foundation's involvement with the SF DA's office illustrates how philanthropic grants can become politically controversial.
- •Such funding arrangements can create dependencies in government agencies on external private money, raising sustainability concerns.
- •Foundations may face reputational risks when the government programs they fund become embroiled in political controversies.
- •The piece raises questions about appropriate boundaries for philanthropic influence over public institutions.
Cited by 1 page
| Page | Type | Quality |
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| MacArthur Foundation | Organization | 65.0 |
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MacArthur, the San Francisco DA, and the Pitfalls of Funding Government Programs – Chronicle of Philanthropy
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MacArthur, the San Francisco DA, and the Pitfalls of Funding Government Programs
A disagreement about how to spend grant money offers poignant lessons on the perils of investing in public institutions.
By Craig Kennedy
Contributor
Gabrielle Lurie/San Francisco Chronicle via AP
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October 9, 2024 | Read Time: 6 minutes
Growing philanthropic interest in funding local and state government programs is generally welcome by the recipients, even when it’s controversial.
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For example, the Gates Foundation was harshly criticized for its approach to helping school districts improve education outcomes, but my research found that none of those districts has rejected the foundation’s money. Similarly, Bloomberg Philanthropies’ grants to improve how cities operate and help them secure federal funding has been deemed “unsustainable .” Yet no city to date appears to have given back the funds.
Arrangements between philanthropy and government have remained popular ever since the turn of the last century, when Andrew Carnegie famously invested more than $40 million to build 1,679 local public libraries . In recent years, however, funders have moved from financing buildings to investing in the internal workings of governments. And that is increasingly putting them under fire.
The most notable recent example occurred in August when the MacArthur Foundation received a letter from the San Francisco District Attorney’s office that abruptly ended a multiyear funding relationship between the two entities. The reason? A strong disagreement over how the funds should be spent.
Here’s a brief summary of the saga: MacArthur had made a $5.2 million grant to support former District Attorney Chesa Boudin’s effort to significantly reduce the number of people incarcerated in the city’s jails. But the new DA, Brooke Jenkins — appointed by the mayor after Boudin was unseated in a recall election focused on rising crime — has a mandate to restore public order in San Francisco. On
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