ABSTRACT

The large tax-exempt foundation is a child of private enterprise. This chapter examines the impact of tax-exempt foundations upon public policy in the United States and shows that their "third-sector" character makes it difficult for them to secure acceptance of their activities or an economic base for charting new directions. Big foundations became rooted in the United States at the beginning of this century and are a unique product of affluent industrialism. The foundations disdain the nationalistic isolationism of the Right, as well as left-wing suspicion of American motives and behavior abroad. For some time, welfare, like health services, had been a declining area for foundation grants because of the expansion of social security and because of private health insurance and retirement plans and increased government involvement in similar fields. Advanced industrial societies sustain their high economic levels by increases in research and development activities.