Philanthropy on Trial - Notes from the jury box

Prosecution Mr Gara LaMarche, The Atlantic Philanthropies

Defence Mr Ralph R Smith, Annie E Casey Foundation

The arguments were good, the repartee lively. Both lawyers knew their briefs and both felt somewhat embarrassed by the fact that they were going to have to make their remarks more one-sided than they usually would. The attack first: Gara went straight for the jugular in a humorous yet also deadly earnest indictment. His main contentions were that collectively foundations are loathe to act together, the sector as a whole does not reflect society’s diverse make-up, and foundations fail to speak effectively on behalf of the most marginalized.

The defence second, and Ralph delivered a stirring plea. His response was elegant, refined, somewhat ‘above the fray’, but despite his eloquence, not much could hide the fact that in essence the defence rested on the premise that foundations could improve, and that they should be judged not on results but on effort. The rebuttals were short, equally loaded, and perhaps the best part of the trial. Both lawyers had fire in their belly and landed some strong points against one another. Ralph could be criticized for shamelessly tugging on the jury’s heartstrings but, taking a page from this book, Gara did offer to donate three months’ salary to Japanese tsunami relief should the prosecution be victorious.

I was picked to be on the jury with 11 peers and, while I’m not sure of the conventions of jury revelations, it was an interesting interlude. Ten of us immediately sided with Gara, agreeing with his critique and hoping the story coming out of Philadelphia would not be one of self-affirmation from the field. One obstinate juror was utterly unconvinced by Gara’s logic, while the twelfth juror seemed torn until the last second, when the defence’s arguments seemed to prevail.

So while the final vote from the jury was 10:2 (a disappointingly divided front), I think the vast majority of those in attendance would side with the prosecution. Despite his posturing, I think even Ralph eventually flipped, as Gara’s comments were right on the mark: we do need to hold ourselves to a higher standard. Anything less would be criminal.

For more information
To find out more about this and other sessions at the 2011 Council on Foundations conference, held in Philadelphia on 10-12 April, visit www.cof.org/events/conferences/2011Annual/index.cfm

Gerry Salole is chief executive of the European Foundation Centre. Email GSalole@efc.be