The Givers

February 6, 2017
Callahan (Fortunes of Change), founder of the website Inside Philanthropy, issues a thoughtful call for transparency and oversight in the charity sector. He begins with Mark Zuckerberg and Priscilla Chan’s 2015 announcement that they were giving away 99% of their Facebook shares. The accolades were tempered by a backlash, with critics claiming the goal was to avoid taxes and push through a political agenda. Callahan explores the culture of “activist donors,” wealthy individuals with the power and influence to shape society and further their own agendas—a power that is only growing. Most of these individuals are white, but otherwise they make up a broad group with widely varying motivations. Some of their goals are more controversial than others, and the power they wield is becoming less and less democratic. Callahan discusses a range of efforts, both well known (the philanthropist-driven effort to revamp Newark’s public school system) and less so (Women Moving Millions, which supports global gender equality). He ends by telling readers to take a close look at this effective but non-egalitarian system, bolstered with suggestions for reform. This striking, thought-provoking work is perfectly timed as American activists move to confront a new presidential administration. Agent: Andrew Stuart, Stuart Agency.

February 15, 2017
Intriguing look at the world of big-ticket philanthropy, which shows promise of surpassing much governmental social-service spending in the near future.Political journalist and Demos think-tank founder Callahan (Fortunes of Change: The Rise of the Liberal Rich and the Remaking of America, 2010, etc.) opens with a moment that caused an odd flurry of controversy when it was announced a little more than a year ago: when Facebook founder Mark Zuckerberg and his wife pledged to use 99 percent of their shares on charity spending, they set off a wave of discussion and objection for what some perceived as "tax avoidance and an undemocratic power grab." Whatever the merits of that view, Callahan reminds us that the sum in question, totaling about $45 billion, is greater than the budgets of about two-thirds of all American states--and in that sense alone a harbinger of the future, since most of those cash-strapped states are not the place to look for relief for such things as medical research or meaningful education reform. The best part of Callahan's book is not its account of the various players in this mega-giving, the Zuckerbergs and Bill Gateses of the world, but instead his view of the machinery that has grown up to surround big giving. In the case of the Howard Hughes Medical Institute, for example, some 2,500 employees disburse more than $700 million per year, an activity that, given the depth of its pockets, may go on for hundreds more years, effectively in perpetuity. The thorniest problem that Callahan explores is not the good that such philanthropies do but the larger import of what happens when the rich get to decide what's important to fund. "Even when wealthy donors are expanding debates," he writes, "true to the spirit of pluralism, we can't forget that it's they who are choosing which voices and ideas get extra juice." An eye-opening view of a vast sector of the economy that lies in the shadows but has undue influence, for ill or good.

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February 15, 2017

In what Callahan (editor, Inside Philanthropy) calls our "new gilded age," billionaire philanthropists--for better or worse--now play a growing role in promoting public policies and funding legislators who support wealthy donors' priorities rather than those of the general public. Included are discussions of philanthropists such as Bill and Melinda Gates, the Koch brothers, and Mark Zuckerberg, along with lesser-known ones who are setting the agendas for mostly conservative but liberal causes, too. Overall, the author views the current state of philanthropy as a positive force, especially when billionaires combine forces and create meaningful public-private partnerships. However, the system is not without its flaws, claims Callahan, who faults donors who give millions to their already well-endowed alma maters while supporting funding cuts to higher education. VERDICT Although the author says that this is not a comprehensive assessment of the philanthropic landscape, at times, the narrative plods with names and details. Overall, this is an accessible overview of how billionaires have become critical players in support of the economy and society as federal and state revenues continue to decline.--Karl Helicher, formerly Upper Merion Twp. Lib., King of Prussia, PA

Copyright 2017 Library Journal, LLC Used with permission.

Starred review from March 1, 2017
Callahan (Fortunes of Change: The Rise of the Liberal Rich and the Remaking of America, 2010) details the efforts of the wealthiest, left and right, to further their own agendas with massive donations to foundations, charities, and think tanks. Altruism drives some but not all of their giving. The growth of dark money pouring into groups whose purposes are to affect policy changes, he argues, is an antidemocratic trend. Through giving, wealthy donors gain a disproportionate power to set public policy in the areas of, to name a few, health care, the environment, education, voting, LGBT rights, and government entitlements. He makes a strong case for greater oversight as megawealthy individuals, driven by the tech billionaires and committed to the Giving Pledge, attempt to redistribute much of their wealth during their lifetimes. Donating to a food pantry or a group that advocates reductions in funding for food programs are equal under our current tax codes. Callahan argues that it's time to change the laws. Not only focused on gloom-and-doom, Callahan includes many positive examples in this fascinating look into perhaps one of the least understood trends in the public square.(Reprinted with permission of Booklist, copyright 2017, American Library Association.)