The wellspring of "Follow the Money" research

This is a long post but bear with me…

There is no conspiracy: the privatization crowd meets openly and publishes much of its playbook.  The moneyed advocates for privatization are secure in their world of beach houses, gated mansions, in-breeding and tax avoidance lawyers.  They hire  (“slummin’ til my real job prospects improve or daddy takes back his Cayenne”) white, black and brown strivers to carry out the privatization agenda in town after town after town.  Sometimes an independent journalist (rarely one at the corporate newspapers or news stations) writes a piece stringing it together and following the money back to some foundation.

But where to start?  Which foundation?  What city?

I go back to the Philanthropy Roundtable.  I would follow any group from your home town or state that donates any of its tax exempt money to this pro-privatization outfit.  If a corporate, (traditional) community or family foundation gives to the Philanthropy Roundtable, they have been hooked/lined/sinkered into the deform agenda.

How bad is Philanthropy Roundtable?

In 2013, where would you expect the deformers to hold a group hive five and congratulatory road show?

In Philadelphia of course.  To wit:

September 30 – October 1

Union League Club – Philadelphia, Pennsylvania

Co-hosted by Delaware Valley Grantmakers
and Cities for Education Entrepreneurship Trust (CEE-Trust)

How can a philanthropist increase the number of great K-12 options in their city? Join donors from across the country as we examine the most promising strategies to grow what works in all of a city’s schools—charter, district, and Catholic/private—and explore the challenges and benefits of a city-based, multi-school sector strategy. How can donors increase a city’s total number of high-quality K-12 seats, regardless of the school sector(s) they fund? We’ll discuss investments that hold the promise of improving multiple types of schools and learn how donors are uniquely positioned to accelerate city-wide student achievement.

Discussions Include:

• Incubating and attracting top school providers


• Can school choice benefit private and public schools?


• Building teacher and leader pipelines that serve all schools


• How can blended learning be used in a purposeful city-wide strategy?


• What does each sector— charter, district, and Catholic/private—do best, and what can each learn from the other?

Speakers Include:

• Katherine Bradley, president, CityBridge Foundation


• Mark Gleason, executive director, Philadelphia School Partnership


• Scott Gordon, CEO, Mastery Charter Schools


• Ethan Gray, executive director, Cities for Education Entrepreneurship Trust (CEE-Trust)


• H. Edward Hanway, chairman, Faith in the Future Foundation


• Jeremy Nowak, president, J. Nowak and Associates


• Don Shalvey, deputy director, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation


• Andy Smarick, research fellow, Bellwether Education

Schedule:

Monday, September 30

12:00 p.m.-4:00 p.m.: Site Visits*

Schools Include:

• Mastery Charter Schools


• Mercy Vocational High School

These school visits will feature an interactive, donor-led conversation of how philanthropists can grow and replicate high-quality schools to achieve major student performance gains in cities.

*Roundtrip transportation will be provided from the Union League Club

4:15 p.m. Special Session (optional):

Not Business As Usual: How Executives are leading Catholic School Reform
This special session will feature prominent business leaders who will explore the role of lay leadership in developing new and innovative Catholic school models.

6:00 p.m. Opening Reception

Tuesday, October 1

8:00 a.m. Breakfast Roundtable Discussions

9:00 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Conference

A significant portion of the conference will give attendees the opportunity to engage in intimate, topic-specific working sessions and discussions about different investment options for accelerating city-wide student achievement.

Meeting Location:

Union League Club of Philadelphia
140 S Broad St.
Philadelphia, PA 19102
(215) 563-6500

<END>

So clear so far…

In 2009, Philanthropy Roundtable released a paper (here in large pdf) still on their web site titled, “Investing in Charter Schools: A Guide For Donors.”  This doesn’t actually mean “invest” as in “earn a direct monetary return” but close enough to not be totally misinterpreted by the vulture capitalists.

This report had a subsection titled “Funders Referenced” that will tell you exactly for each city or state who is the primary ‘wellspring’ for deform activity in a locality.  [New York excepted because that’s where all the smarmiest, richest investors are and they can “invest” anywhere.] You’ll recognize some of these names more than others.  This coven of deformers has certainly spread since 2009. 

• Achelis & Bodman Foundations (New York, NY)


• Ahmanson Foundation (Beverly Hills, CA)


• Amar Foundation (San Jose, CA)


• Beginning with Children Foundation (New York, NY)


• Brighter Choice Foundation (Albany, NY)


• Boston Foundation (Boston, MA)


• Bradley Foundation (Milwaukee, WI)


• Broad Foundation (Los Angeles, CA)


• California Community Foundation (Los Angeles, CA)


• Annie E. Casey Foundation (Baltimore, MD)


• Challenge Foundation (Dallas, TX)


• Charter School Growth Fund (Broomfield, CO)


• CityBridge Foundation (Washington, DC)


• Cosmos Foundation (Houston, TX) [Gulen shout out!]


• Daniels Fund (Denver, CO


• Dell Foundation (Austin, TX)


• Richard M. Fairbanks Fdn (Indianapolis, IN)


• Doris and Donald Fisher Fund (San Francisco, CA)


• Ford Motor Company Fund (Dearborn, MI)


• Gates Family Foundation (Denver, CO)


• Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation (Seattle, WA)


• Greater New Orleans Foundation (New Orleans, LA)


• Charles Hayden Foundation (New York NY)


• Heinz Endowments (Pittsburgh, PA)


• Hewlett Foundation (Menlo Park, CA)


• Houston Endowmennt (Houston, TX)


• Jaquelin Hume Foundation (San Francisco, CA)


• Hyde Family Foundation (Memphis, TN)


• James Irvine Fdn (San Francisco, CA)


• Joyce Foundation (Chicago, IL)


• Ewing Marion Kauffman Foundation (Kansas City, MO)


• Kern Family Foundation (Waukesha, WI)


• Marcus Foundation (Atlanta, GA)


• MCJ and Amelior Foundation (Morristown, NJ)


• Newark Charter School Fund (Newark, NJ)


• Newschools Venture Fund (San Francisco, CA)


• Prudential Financial (Shelton, CT)


• Pumpkin Foundation (NY, NY)


• Riordan Foundation (LA, CA)


• Robertson Foundation (NY, NY)


• Robin Hood Foundation (NY, NY)


• Rodel Charitable Foundation (Scottsdale, AZ)


• Rodel Foundation of Delaware (Wilmington, DE)


• Rogers Family Foundation (Oakland, CA)


• Ronald Simon Family Foundation (Newport Beach, CA)


• Sallie Mae Fund (reston, VA)


• The Reinvestment Fund (Philadelphia, PA)


• Tiger Foundation (New York, NY)


• Victoria Foundation (Glen Ridge, NJ)


• Walton Family Foundation (Bentonville, AR)


• Weingart Foundation (LA, CA)

Happy fishing!!!