Symposium Explores New Directions of Philanthropy

By Roberta Salvador

    What are the most effective ways to make a positive impact on poverty, sickness, or homelessness? Should funding go to improve specific neighborhoods, address a high-profile problem, or go into research to investigate the root causes of various social ills? How much of the burden should not-for-profits and corporate philanthropies be expected to shoulder, and what are the responsibilities of government?

      These questions were among the main topics explored at a Nov. 6 symposium held in NYU’s Kimmel Center, entitled “New Directions in Corporate and Foundation Philanthropy.” The meeting, described as a “kickoff event” by Silver School of Social Work Dean Suzanne England, is the first of a projected series of meetings between grant-making organizations and social service agencies.             

      One of the larger themes emerging from the conference was voiced by keynote speaker Kimberly Davis, president of the JP Morgan Chase Foundation, who told the audience that no one sector can effect change alone.

      “Corporations can’t be expected to take the role of government,” said Davis. “Corporations can blaze the path with innovations that government can bring to scale.”

      The issues of strategic philanthropic investing and the role of government were further explored by Florence Davis, president of The Starr Foundation, which has begun to reduce the number of grants to small, community-based organizations in favor of larger, broader grants. Reflecting on this shift, she asked, “Should the government guarantee a certain standard of living for the elderly, the poor, or the mentally ill?  Does philanthropy have an obligation to fill the gaps? There may be no right answer.”

      The ways in which we relate to others, a subject at the heart of social work, was the focus of President John Sexton’s address to the group. 

      “Where does humankind stand at the dawn of the 21st century?” asked Sexton. “Principally, this century will be seen as the century of the ‘other.’ You can put your own word after ‘other’—the other religion, the other gender, and so forth.  But you can’t gate yourself off from the ‘other’, and in this context, there is a huge choice to be made. Are we going to be able to create an overarching notion of community, above all this ‘other’-ness, a whole greater than the sum of its parts?  Can we avoid chasms between peoples?  Or can we see this as an ecumenical opportunity, a great gift?”

    The conference was co-sponsored by the Silver School and the George H. Heyman, Jr. Center for Philanthropy and Fundraising, and featured participants Phil Coltoff, former head of the Childrens Aid Society and the Aibel Visiting Professor at the Silver School; Michael Stoller, executive director of the Human Services Council of NYC; Gary Rosenberg, senior vice president of Mount Sinai Medical Center; Gail Nayowith, executive director of the Laurie M Tisch Foundation; Sidney Harman, principal of the Harman Family Foundation and executive chairman of Harman International Industries; and Jack Rosenthal, president of The New York Times Company Foundation