| Waldemar Nielsen and Derek Bok have lambasted U.S. foundations and universities and colleges for their inability to have positive impacts on their communities. Given their respective assets and the massive amounts of money that are transferred from foundations to their higher education counterparts, one might assume that these non-profit behemoths would play a significant role in addressing socio-economic ills in our world.;Surprisingly, in spite of this important foundation-higher education institution nexus, the limited existing literature has focused almost entirely on the ways in which the foundation has supported the operations of the college or university. Through an empirical evaluation of the grants awarded by the top fifteen funding foundations to American institutions of higher education over the period 2003-08, this study determines the extent to which these major foundations support the American academy in addressing issues that impact communities at the local, national or global level. The data analyzed examines a distribution of effort rather than what works vis-a-vis academy-foundation collaboration. Through a close reading of all grants awarded U.S. colleges and universities, as compiled by the Foundation Center, the study seeks to code all grants as one of three types: (1) grants to institutions of higher education that have a direct impact on issues within the local community; (2) grants to universities that seek to address community issues on a national or even international sphere; (3) grants that more specifically assist the operations of the particular higher education institution.;The evidence from this empirical study suggests that the American foundation is a far more functional entity than one might be led to believe from Nielsen's words. This study indicates that the foundations have been quite effective in targeting a multitude of issues on a local, national and global scale. Leaving aside the more complex issue of measuring effectiveness rather than simply intentions, as a player in the public/social policy arena, the foundation, channeling grant funds through American universities and colleges, has made impressive strides to support a variety of projects for a greater good. |
