American Educational Philanthropy: Where Does the Money Go?

• In Event: The Politics and Landscapes of Philanthropic Involvement in Pre-K–20 Education

Abstract

This paper is a descriptive study of where major educational philanthropists in the United States invest their gifts. The hypothesis of interest is that competition among different philanthropists will lead to diversification in gifts and funded location. Evidence for this hypothesis is provided by studying patterns of giving of the two most prominent educational philanthropists in the United States: the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Walton Family Foundation. Looking at almost 700 different projects funded by the two foundations in 2018, the author found that despite some similarities, the two foundations have moderately different patterns in giving. They tend to support different purposes and locations of projects with each other.

Author

• Bich T. Tran, University of Arkansas