Philanthropic Foundations’ Social Agendas and the Field of Higher Education

Abstract

Today there are approximately 68,000 private independent foundations that contribute less than 3 % of the total annual revenue to the field of higher education. These groups aspire to use their patronage to transform and reform the structure and practices of higher education, such that their vision for American society takes hold. Since society is once again in an era of mega-foundation activity, this synthesis considers the evidence describing how private foundations have pursued their social agendas to shape the field of higher education.