Book Review of Megan Tompkins-Stange -- Policy Patrons: Philanthropy, Education Reform, and the Politics of Influence
Nonprofit Policy Forum, DOI 10.1515/npf-2017-0001, 2017
3 Pages Posted: 21 Apr 2017
Date Written: February 10, 2017
Abstract
In Policy Patrons: Philanthropy, Education Reform, and the Politics of Influence, Prof. Megan Tompkins-Stange purports to delve into the inner sanctum of four large U.S. foundations – Gates, Broad, Ford, and Kellogg – and then compare her perspectives of the first two with the latter two in how they engage or fail to engage democracy in their respective missions to improve our nation’s education systems and outcomes. Although presenting interesting insights, the book has too many flaws to give in to the natural temptation to equate its timely topical focus with meaningful critique, much less to extrapolate to policy debates more broadly.
The book’s portrayals, conclusions, and even its structure unduly disparage the democratic participation that actually occurred in so-called “top down” approaches while simultaneously overstating the democratic sensibilities of “grassroots” approaches. Even so, the book presents entertaining and even useful insights into the workings of these foundations in one particular program area over a particular course of time. Reading more into the book overstates its significance for foundation engagement in education policy or more broadly, regardless of who would have won the election.
Keywords: Philanthropy, Education, Policy, Education Reform, Private Foundations
JEL Classification: I20, I21, I28, L30, L38, L39
Suggested Citation: Suggested Citation