How does Michael Bloomberg’s philanthropy compare to that of other living donors? What percentage did he spend supporting social justice organizations and marginalized communities? What does his charitable giving say about he would run the country.
These and other related questions were discussed last Friday, Feb. 28, as NCRP’s Aaron Dorfman moderated one hour online discussion entitled “Bloomberg’s Billions: Philanthropy, Power and Politics.” Check it out below if you missed it.
Dorfman was joined by a panel of experts that included Inside Philanthropy’s David Callahan, Black Votes Matter Executive Director LaTosha Brown and Farhad Ebrahimi of the Chorus Foundation. Publicly available 2012-2016 domestic data compiled by NCRP Director of Research Ryan Schlegel and unveiled by Dorfman during the discussion noted that Bloomberg trailed other living billionaires in the percentage of giving that went to a number of groups, including, African Americans, women and girls and the disabled.
His percentage of total giving for people of color (8%) was slightly lower than his percentage of total giving for poor people (10%). Only 1% of his total giving went to women and girls, while only 2.8% of total giving was for people with disabilities.
Analysis of Bloomberg domestic philanthropy shows barely 1% given to specifically support women and girls. What does that mean for half of the country he is running to represent? 🙄🤔 #ncrplive #bloombergsbillion #moneypowerpolitics
— Timi Gerson (@timigerson) February 28, 2020
The percentages of giving to marginalized communities and social justice organizations were also far off NCRP’s benchmarks of 50% and 25% for marginalized groups and social justice groups respectively.
Click here to view the replay video on your favorite social media platform, including Facebook.
Panelist views
Here are some of the discussion highlights, courtesy of Twitter:
Take the same philanthropic stances you’ve taken, but take them with an ecosystem-wide perspective. Remember the grassroots. – @Yahktoe‘s advice for Bloomberg’s giving. #ncrplive
— Ryan Schlegel (@r_j_schlegel) February 28, 2020
.@Yahktoe compares Bloomberg’s #philanthropy to a drag anchor — it steadies the ship, but slows progress. #MoneyPowerPolitics #NCRPlive
— NCRP (@NCRP) February 28, 2020
“[Bloomberg] a technocratic giver and an effective one.” — @DavidCallahanIP #MoneyPowerPolitics #NCRPlive
— NCRP (@NCRP) February 28, 2020
“[Bloomberg] is totally out-of-touch with anything happening in grassroots communities.” — @DavidCallahanIP #MoneyPowerPolitics #NCRPlive
— NCRP (@NCRP) February 28, 2020
“A major concern for me is that Bloomberg is funding his campaign himself … Who is he accountable to?” — @MsLaToshaBrown #MoneyPowerPolitics #NCRPlive
— NCRP (@NCRP) February 28, 2020
Bloomberg’s climate philanthropy generated concern because local organizations were crucial to the fight to close coal plants, but they were rarely given resources or credit. @Yahktoe #ncrplive
— Ryan Schlegel (@r_j_schlegel) February 28, 2020
MORE ON OUR PANELISTS
DAVID CALLAHAN is the founder and editor of Inside Philanthropy. He has written extensively on trends in philanthropy, as well as American culture, public policy and business. David is author, most recently, of “The Givers: Wealth, Power, and Philanthropy in a New Gilded Age.” Before launching Inside Philanthropy in 2014, David co-founded Demos, the national think tank, where he held various leadership positions and conducted research on a wide range of issues related to economic and political inequality, as well as writing on moral values, professional ethics and business. Previously, David was a resident scholar at the Century Foundation and managing editor of The American Prospect, the public policy journal. More.
LATOSHA BROWN is a fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School’s Institute of Politics and the co-founder of Black Voters Matter Fund, a power-building, southern-based civic engagement organization that played an instrumental role in the 2017 Alabama U.S. Senate race. The award-winning organizer, philanthropic consultant, political strategist and jazz singer has more than 20 years of experience working in the nonprofit and philanthropy sectors on a wide variety of issues related to political empowerment, social justice, economic development, leadership development, wealth creation and civil rights. More.
FARHAD EBRAHIMI is an activist, philanthropist and founder of the Chorus Foundation, which works for a just transition to a regenerative economy in the U.S. The Chorus Foundation supports communities on the front lines of the old, extractive economy to build new bases of political, economic and cultural power for systemic change. More.
Elbert Garcia is NCRP’s director of strategic communications. Follow @ElbertGarciaFl and @NCRP on Twitter.
Photo by David Shankbone, used under Creative Commons license.
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