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The central argument of this article is questioning big companies and their contribution to "philanthropy". For example its analyzing big corporations donations to a philanthropy that provides support for individuals with AIDS but on the other hand the company will invest in pharmaceuticals that do not make AIDS treatment affordable. This all comes down to a system of things and it trickles down from big for profit corporations with lots of money to small philanthropies that are trying to make a difference in the world. Companies think because they donate 2% of their profit from the year that they are helping to make a difference but, in reality they just want the tax write off and to create a reputable, known name.
This article has many critiques of the non profit sector with one being "and most philanthropic foundations are endowed by and invest their assets in these same companies, which create the very problems the foundations address." This quote is describing how some philanthropic foundations rely on specific donors and if they do not have their money they could not function. It's a cycle that keeps on contributing to problems that these philanthropies are trying to solve and there needs to be a change so that the cycle stops.
My internship is at St. Paul School after school program and it is not a nonprofit organization. So I do not see these specific dynamics happen within my internship but I have observed something that is significant. For example the school is ran by the church and the church is ran by the diocese of Providence, this is a large system and the school is currently struggling with enrollment. The school relies on the profit of tuition from each student and if enrollment is low the profit is decreasing and the church is funding too much money for the school. There has been talk of in the next few years that closing the school would be a good option because it is not making as much as a profit as it use to and the church can not afford it. I think what should happen is that if the church invested in the school a little more with renovations and programming for the students to make it a competitive school to get in to, enrollment would increase. I have done many projects and fun things with the students in the program and the pastor came in and told me that the area was a mess and never asked what we were doing and how it benefited student learning and this hurt me. This story relates to this article because sometimes companies or higher authority are not seeing what is beneficial for the people in need but only what is beneficial for their company. It is a cycle.
Thanks for your post Casey. I may be wrong, but I think that technically, Catholic schools are nonprofits because they are tax exempt. The problem of depleted funds in the Catholic church has been a major issue across the country and has led to many school closures. It makes me wonder, with such a large infrastructure and central belief system, how the Catholic church in the US is re-evaluating its mission in this time of financial trouble.
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