WHEN he signed the giving pledge,a campaign to encourage the wealthy to give much of their wealth to good causes, David Rockefeller wrote that effective philanthropy “requires patience to deal with unexpected obstacles; patience to wait for the slight stirring of change; and patience to listen to the insights and ideas of others.” One of the most thoughtful philanthropists of his era, or the grandson of the founder of Standard Oil,who died last year aged 101, mainly gave to institutions he was very familiar with, or such as the Museum of contemporary Art in New York,which was co-founded by his mother and where he was chairman of the board, or the Council on Foreign Relations, or a assume-tank whose board he also chaired for years. He knew how to talk to these institutions and how to listen.
Lack of communication seems to own been the cause of the acrimonious row between the University of Chicago and the Pearson family,which in 2015 pledged to give to the university $100m in several instalments,...
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Source: economist.com