A Book Discussion on "American Foundations: Roles and Contributions"

American Foundations: Roles and Contributions, edited by David Hammack and Helmut Anheier, is one of the most authoritative collections of scholarly essays examining the past and future of American philanthropic institutions to be published in the past several decades. The essayists conclude that foundations are entering a new era characterized by goals and activities far more modest than those to which they had become accustomed.

Hammack and Anheier state that, "At the beginning of the new millennium, American foundations find themselves in a situation that is dramatically different from that of the classic foundation period of the early twentieth century. In relation to the fields they address, foundations now have significantly less money. Other nonprofit and government institutions, often with far greater resources, occupy those fields."

Hudson Senior Fellow and Bradley Center Director William A. Schambra moderated a panel of distinguished guests in discussion.