Carnegie Corporation of New York: Meeting the Challenges of the 21st Century

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Conclusion

Andrew Carnegie once pointed out that, as citizens, we have a duty to do “real and permanent good in this world.” Today, he would undoubtedly be gratified to see how many Americans believe in that adage as deeply as he did and how consistently and generously his fellow citizens put that belief to work through charity, philanthropy and volunteerism. In the United States, at the present, the “Independent Sector” that Carnegie envisioned and helped to create has become a vast local and national network that includes foundations, nonprofit organizations, volunteer associations, and service groups, among others. The Independent Sector is diverse and it is growing. Over time, it has come to play a role that complements federal, state and local efforts on behalf of our society. It has contributed greatly to the evolution of the institutions of our democracy. It has been a true engine of growth for our civil society. This sector, which comprises more than 1.4 million organizations, provides a large measure of the nation’s low-income housing, a substantial amount of its higher education and research institutions and is a critical component of K-12 education, as well. Our nonprofits provide a significant portion of the nation’s health care, much of its human services and almost all of the arts. Nonprofits address the needs of underserved and disadvantaged populations by providing billions of dollars in services and programs. This sector tackles complex social problems that other sectors are either unwilling or unable to address. In all of these areas, philanthropies help nonprofit organizations develop innovative programs. It has been said that philanthropies and their nonprofit partners are one of the most important research and development arms of our society.

As a member of the Independent Sector and of the Council on Foundations, Carnegie Corporation of New York has always invested—and continues to invest—a significant portion of its resources in national organizations such as universities, think tanks, and a wide range of nonprofit groups that are at the forefront of advancing education, knowledge, and international peace. We provide this support because we believe that these institutions and organizations are the true agents of change in our society and around the globe and that it is the obligation of foundations such as ours to facilitate their work, which is in harmony with the ideals of Andrew Carnegie, our founder and first president, and to partner with them in realizing their goals. There are times, however, when due to an absence of leadership, inertia, apathy, institutional rivalries, competing political agendas or other factors, major issues of national and even international importance are not clearly and readily addressed. It may be that this failing can be attributed to the fact that it requires many voices to be raised in unison and cooperative efforts to be undertaken by a variety of groups and organizations. In such situations, the Corporation has felt compelled to help fill the vacuum by acting as a catalyst, a convener or by funding initiatives we have developed in order to address such challenges because we believe that the failure to discuss, debate and act on critical national or global problems can have corrosive and sometimes long-lasting effects. In an era of globalization, when knowledge and scholarship are becoming increasingly universal and universally accessible, problems, too, with all their complexity, no longer recognize borders of geography, language, time, culture, or myriad other factors and so they demand an integrated approach. They demand the best ideas from all of us and the wisdom to work together to see that ideas turn into actions and solutions.

To help meet the challenge of sharing ideas and results, Carnegie Corporation, with its rich history and long tradition as an important independent voice in America’s progress, has developed a Dissemination Program, which is designed to lift issues of critical importance onto the national agenda. This is why the program has devoted significant resources to ensuring that wide dissemination of the issues addressed through our grantmaking and actualized by the work of our grantees is an integral part of all our efforts. Additionally, the Dissemination Program has made investing in the professional development of our grantees a major priority so that we can work together more effectively as partners and colleagues in not only the creation of knowledge but in making that knowledge as widely available and accessible as possible.

We believe that the dissemination of ideas, of lessons learned, and the outcome of the projects we support are among the most crucial public roles that a grantmaking foundation can play in contributing to the betterment of our society and the promotion of international peace. But in this regard, we recognize, also, that our role is only one of many: we should support those organizations and institutions that have a clear vision for positive change and effective programs to carry out that vision and stimulate ideas when a vision is yet to be born. In that connection, it is important to develop effective partnerships with our sister foundations, organizations and institutions in order to increase the impact of the Corporation’s work in all its roles. This is a natural path to follow: after all, collaboration is a way of owning up to the fact that an organization has limitations to overcome—of resources, of expertise, of time, or other factors—but that it is also committed to increasing its ability to achieve sustained and productive action. Today, the problems we face as a nation are too complicated and potentially consequential to allow any room to indulge either personal or institutional egos. In times such as these, competition is healthy but cooperation is mandatory. Forming alliances among groups and organizations, as well as among individuals, may be hard, but that difficulty does not negate the value of creating collaborative plans and investments for effective and imperative social change.

It is for these reasons that, going forward, the programmatic and administrative reorganization we have launched is future focused, strengthened by our experiences and lessons learned in the past. Hence, we are committed to collaboration both externally and internally, with organizational partners and colleagues alike. In designing the current structure of our Corporation, our aim has been to eliminate programmatic and organizational silos without turning the foundation into a silo itself. In actualizing this idea we have, for example, ensured that even the Corporation’s vice presidents are directly involved in and/or have responsibilities for program activities, which gives them firsthand knowledge of all that is involved—from conception to execution—in making grants and assessing their results. Our aim, however, is to do even more: to eliminate duplication and unnecessary competition within the Corporation; to bring coherence and efficiency to the activities of both our International and National programs; and to communicate with our grantee community—and the wider nonprofit community, as well—with one voice, which is perhaps the most important purpose for writing this essay.

Andrew Carnegie saw the world as One. He saw America as One. So do we. Hence, our work, now and into the future, carries forward his mandate to promote the continuing advancement and diffusion of knowledge and understanding, a vision that still inspires us all.