WASHINGTON, Nov. 27 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The school voucher movement suffered a set back in Utah despite the support from key Republican officials, and the impressive amount of money that bankrolled the campaign.
A recent article in The Salt Lake Tribune identified the Milton and Rose D. Friedman Foundation as one of the donors. It reportedly contributed over $200,000 to the school voucher effort in Utah.
"The Friedman Foundation's involvement in Utah isn't unique," said Rick Cohen, author of Strategic Grantmaking: Foundations and the School Privatization Movement. "In fact, if you take a look at the numbers, you might be surprised at how much money from private foundations has been poured into building the school choice movement in the past few years."
In Strategic Grantmaking, which was published by the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, Cohen identified over 1,200 foundations that gave more than $380 million to 104 school choice organizations associated with advocacy in favor of school vouchers and K-12 education tax credits from 2002 to 2005. The Walton Family Foundation gave $25 million in total grants to these organizations in 2005 alone. The Lynde and Harry F. Bradley Foundation, Sarah Scaife Foundation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (which provided support for purposes other than the promotion of school vouchers) and the John Templeton Foundation were the other top givers for that year.
"What impresses me the most about these school choice funders is their movement-building strategy," said Aaron Dorfman, executive director of NCRP. "They are targeted. They are organized. They utilize effective grantmaking practices that other foundations can learn from to more build support for other issues they care about."
In Strategic Grantmaking, Cohen identifies these strategies as the use of unrestricted general operating support, payout rates that are more than the required 5 percent of foundation assets and foundation leaders contributing to candidates, political parties, PACs and 501(c)(4) organizations associated with the school choice movement.
The report is available for free download on http://www.ncrp.org/. For media interviews or to obtain a press copy, please contact ymoore@ncrp.org.
NCRP promotes philanthropy that serves the public good, is responsive to people and communities with the least wealth and opportunity, and is held accountable to the highest standards of integrity and openness. For more information on NCRP, please visit http://www.ncrp.org/ or call (202) 387-9177.
National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy
