| dc.description.abstract | Foundation philanthropy, or organized private giving for the public good, emerged in the first decade of the twentieth century. Gilded Age millionaires and Progressive Era reformers alike Bought a more systematic, rational, and efficient method to distribute excess wealth for the general welfare. With a shift away from the more traditional ¿retail¿ approach of charity to ¿wholesale philanthropy,¿ a philanthropic revolution occurred and a fundamentally different vehicle¿the general purpose, grantmaking foundation¿emerged. For over fifty years (1920¿1970), Texas private foundations have played a significant role in the economic, social, and cultural development of the state. From oil revenues and business profits, donors have established over 250 grantmaking institutions for educational, charitable, religious, scientific, and cultural purposes. The vast majority were modest family creations founded by a homogeneous group of wealthy Texans. Typically, they designated their funds to support familiar causes in or near their hometowns to benefit ¿the people of Texas.¿ As elite institutions, however, Texas foundations functioned as exclusive clubs with unparalleled social and cultural hegemony. Tax-exempt and controlled by self-perpetuating boards of directors, they acted with unusual autonomy, determining desirable change through their grantmaking powers. With few governmental constraints, many operated behind a shroud of secrecy and outside the democratic process. Moreover, most founders, who were members of a small class of prominent Texas families, did not challenge the socioeconomic status quo within the state. Instead, they used their wealth and position to advance favored causes within the prevailing race relations of Jim Crow Texas. As a consequence, following a series of nationwide congressional investigations, including probes into alleged abuses by nine Texas funds, Congress passed the Tax Reform Act of 1969¿the first major piece of legislation regulating foundation activities. | |
