23
February 2010
Past Event
Too Close for Comfort? Obama and the Foundations

Too Close for Comfort? Obama and the Foundations

Past Event
Hudson Institute, Washington, D.C. Headquarters
February 23, 2010
Default Event Image
23
February 2010
Past Event

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

Speakers:
William Schambra,

Hudson Senior Fellow and Director, Bradley Center for Philanthropy & Civic Renewal

Gara LaMarche

President, Atlantic Philanthropies

Terry Mazany,

Chicago Community Trust

Lewis Feldstein,

New Hampshire Charitable Foundation

Chester Finn,

Thomas Fordham Foundation

"It is nice to be able to say that you look forward to working with your own government to make the world a better place – independent of it, surely; at times critical of it – but feeling you have a partner, not an adversary. Maybe demonstration projects we fund in philanthropy that actually demonstrate something will no longer be like the proverbial trees that fall in the forest with no one to hear them." So spoke Atlantic Philanthropies president Gara LaMarche shortly after President Obama was sworn in, capturing a widespread feeling that the new administration was opening itself in unprecedented ways to partnership and collaboration with philanthropy, and was prepared at last to "scale up" - with federal dollars - innovative foundation approaches to problems in education, welfare, and health. But as Mr. LaMarche’s statement suggests, we look to philanthropy for more than close partnerships with government. We also expect it occasionally to be a critic and adversary. How is that tension likely to play out in the context of the Obama administration? In the first flush of enthusiasm for a closer foundation/government relationship, is there a danger that the two can become too close for comfort?

Related Events
19
September 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Venezuela: Can US Pressure Break Maduro’s Grip?
Featured Speakers:
Eric Farnsworth
Carrie Filipetti
David Smolansky
Moderator:
Daniel Batlle
Getty Images
19
September 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Venezuela: Can US Pressure Break Maduro’s Grip?

Join Adjunct Fellow Daniel Batlle and a panel of experts as they dissect these questions.

Getty Images
Featured Speakers:
Eric Farnsworth
Carrie Filipetti
David Smolansky
Moderator:
Daniel Batlle
24
September 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Peace Through Strength: A New Strategic Review for a New Nuclear Age
Featured Speakers:
Keith Payne
Rebeccah L. Heinrichs
DVIDS
24
September 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Peace Through Strength: A New Strategic Review for a New Nuclear Age

Join Dr. Rebeccah L. Heinrichs, senior fellow at Hudson Institute, and Dr. Keith Payne, president and cofounder of NIPP, for discussion about the report’s analysis and recommendations.

DVIDS
Featured Speakers:
Keith Payne
Rebeccah L. Heinrichs
24
September 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Chokeholds and Choices: Securing Supply Chains in the US-China Rivalry
Featured Speakers:
Rush Doshi
Cameron Johnson
Gerard DiPippo
Nadia Schadlow
Moderator:
Patrick M. Cronin
Getty Images
24
September 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Chokeholds and Choices: Securing Supply Chains in the US-China Rivalry

Senior Fellow Nadia Schadlow will join leading experts on supply chains and US-China competition for a panel discussion of these questions, moderated by Asia-Pacific Security Chair Patrick Cronin.

Getty Images
Featured Speakers:
Rush Doshi
Cameron Johnson
Gerard DiPippo
Nadia Schadlow
Moderator:
Patrick M. Cronin
08
October 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Relearning Great Power Diplomacy: A Conversation with Wess Mitchell
Featured Speakers:
Wess Mitchell
Peter Rough
A detail photo of “A Peace Conference at the Quai d'Orsay” by William Orpen. (Wikimedia Commons)
08
October 2025
In-Person Event | Hudson Institute
Relearning Great Power Diplomacy: A Conversation with Wess Mitchell

Join Hudson’s Peter Rough for a discussion with Wess Mitchell on the future of great power diplomacy.

A detail photo of “A Peace Conference at the Quai d'Orsay” by William Orpen. (Wikimedia Commons)
Featured Speakers:
Wess Mitchell
Peter Rough