12
September 2012
Past Event
What is Conservative Philanthropy?

What is Conservative Philanthropy?

Past Event
Hudson Institute, Washington, D.C. Headquarters
September 12, 2012
Default Event Image
12
September 2012
Past Event

1015 15th Street, N.W., 6th Floor
Washington, DC 20005

Speakers:
William Schambra,

Director, Bradley Center for Philanthropy and Civic Renewal Senior Fellow

Lenore Ealy,

Editor, Conservations on Philanthropy

Gara LaMarche,

Senior Fellow at New York University's Robert F. Wagner School of Public Service

James Piereson,

President, William E. Simon Foundation

Steven Teles,

Associate Professor, Johns Hopkins University Zanvyl Krieger School of Arts and Sciences

As conservative policy proposals have come to play a major role in American politics, liberal pundits have been quick to point to wealthy conservative donors as the source of this success. Notes William E. Simon Foundation President James Piereson: "Conservative ideas play but a minor role in the account, and are themselves generally characterized as mere stalking horses for corporate interests. A particularly sinister role is ascribed to those conservative philanthropies that have helped fund thinkers, magazines, and research institutions?on the assumption that no one would advance such self-evidently meretricious ideas unless paid to do so."

Piereson goes on to point out that while "the Left has displayed a near-obsessive interest in conservative philanthropies," it has tended to "ignore the substance of [conservative] ideas themselves, quite as if John Stuart Mill's famous characterization of conservatives as 'the stupid party' were still the rule in the early 21st century. But the plain fact is that modern conservatives have been engaged with the world of ideas to a far greater extent than most modern liberals. The columnist David Brooks has observed that, asked to name influences on their thinking, most conservatives are able to list a number of books or authors, while liberals have difficulty identifying any. This lively engagement with a coherent body of ideas forms a crucial if much overlooked aspect of the rise of conservatism, and one in which conservative foundations have played a central role."

What are the ideas that animate conservative philanthropy today? What direction is conservative grantmaking likely to take in the future? These and other questions were addressed by our distinguished panel.

Required Reading

James Piereson, Investing in Conservative Ideas, Commentary, May 2005.

Related Events
29
March 2023
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
US Support for Ukraine's Defense with Sens. Risch and Wicker
Featured Speakers:
Jim Risch
Roger Wicker
Rebeccah L. Heinrichs
A boy walks past of a street exhibition of destroyed Russian military vehicles in center of Kyiv, Ukraine 21 March 2023. (Photo by STR/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
29
March 2023
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
US Support for Ukraine's Defense with Sens. Risch and Wicker

Please join Hudson Senior Fellow and Director of the Keystone Defense Initiative Rebeccah Heinrichs for a conversation with Senators Risch and Wicker on US support for Ukraine’s defense on Wednesday, March 29, at 4:00 p.m. A reception will follow.

A boy walks past of a street exhibition of destroyed Russian military vehicles in center of Kyiv, Ukraine 21 March 2023. (Photo by STR/NurPhoto via Getty Images)
Featured Speakers:
Jim Risch
Roger Wicker
Rebeccah L. Heinrichs
30
March 2023
Virtual Event | Online Only
The Abraham Accords: Achievements and Prospects
Featured Speakers:
Ofir Akunis
Robert Greenway
Moderator:
Michael Doran
doran event
30
March 2023
Virtual Event | Online Only
The Abraham Accords: Achievements and Prospects

Please join Hudson Institute for a discussion with Israel's Minister of Innovation, Science and Technology Ofir Akunis and Executive Director of the Abraham Accords Peace Institute Robert Greenway, moderated by Center for Peace and Security in the Middle East Director Michael Doran.

doran event
Featured Speakers:
Ofir Akunis
Robert Greenway
Moderator:
Michael Doran
31
March 2023
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Has the United States Given Up on Venezuela?
Featured Speakers:
Marshall Billingslea
Carrie Filipetti
José R. Cárdenas
Nate Sibley
An anti-Maduro demonstrator waves a Venezuelan flag in front of the Venezuelan National Police officers during a demonstration against the government of Nicolás Maduro organized by supporters of Juan Guaidó on March 10, 2020, in Caracas, Venezuela. (Edilzon Gamez/Getty Images)
31
March 2023
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Has the United States Given Up on Venezuela?

Please join Hudson Institute to discuss what has gone wrong with US policy toward Venezuela and how the Biden administration and 118th Congress can reinvigorate efforts to support democracy so that all Venezuelans can have a brighter future.

An anti-Maduro demonstrator waves a Venezuelan flag in front of the Venezuelan National Police officers during a demonstration against the government of Nicolás Maduro organized by supporters of Juan Guaidó on March 10, 2020, in Caracas, Venezuela. (Edilzon Gamez/Getty Images)
Featured Speakers:
Marshall Billingslea
Carrie Filipetti
José R. Cárdenas
Nate Sibley
03
April 2023
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
US Policy and Taliban Rule in Afghanistan
Featured Speakers:
Adela Raz
Husain Haqqani
Raz event
03
April 2023
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
US Policy and Taliban Rule in Afghanistan

Join Hudson Institute for a conversation on these issues and more with Ambassador Adela Raz, former ambassador of Afghanistan to the US and visiting fellow at Hudson Institute, and Ambassador Husain Haqqani, former ambassador of Pakistan to the US and director of Hudson Institute’s South and Central Asia program.

Raz event
Featured Speakers:
Adela Raz
Husain Haqqani