As Gates Foundation Grows, Critics Question Methods
by Wendy Kaufman
NPR
June 3, 2011
About a thousand people joined Bill and Melinda Gates Thursday
night to celebrate the opening of the foundation's new campus in
Seattle.
"You know when you work on a project like this you start with a goal,"
Melinda Gates said. "And at the end of the day, this campus is about
us having an impact on the world for the people we serve, whether
they are in Bangladesh or in Boston or in Botswana or Nigeria."
The foundation spends most of its money on global health, with
sizable sums going to global development and efforts to improve
public schools in the U.S.
In order to keep its tax-exempt status, the foundation has to give
away about $3 billion a year. Stacy Palmer, editor of the Chronicle of
Philanthropy, says the foundation's influence goes far beyond that.
The Gates Foundation
Founded in 1994
Based in Seattle
Since 1994, it has granted more than $24 billion
It gave out $2.6 billion in 2010
More than 900 employees
Supports initiatives in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., and in
more than 100 countries
— More about the foundation
Taking Over?
"They're influencing governments in lots of different ways — and
corporations, and really everybody else in society, and it's not just
about writing checks," she says.
It's about setting agendas, framing debates, advocating the
foundation's point of view and taking action. Palmer says the
foundation has changed the perception of what a private organization
can do.
"And that is a good thing," she says. "Because it's getting more
people involved. But if you don't like what their agenda is — then it's
an unchecked way of getting things done and that bothers a lot of
people."
Right now, for example, there's a lot of talk about the foundation's
effort to improve public schools. It's focusing on better classroom
instruction and is using data — including student test scores — to
gauge how well teachers are doing.
"I have no doubt that the movement Bill Gates has launched has
created enormous hostility toward teachers," says Diane Ravitch, who
has been studying American education for 40 years.
The New York University professor has emerged as the most
outspoken critic of the foundation's approach.
"It's like all accountability for educational failure is suddenly plopped
on the heads of teachers, and this is wrong," she says.
Moreover, Ravitch contends that when the foundation supports think
tanks, academics and others who agree with its point of view, it
drowns out other voices. Referring to Bill Gates, she says, one man
shouldn't have so much power.
Achieving Objectives
"I think Diane is really underestimating the number of voices that are
out there, including her own," says Jeff Raikes, CEO of the Gates
Foundation.
He dismisses Ravitch's contention that the foundation has
commandeered the education debate. At the same time he makes no
apologies for the organization's doggedness in trying to achieve its
objectives.
"We do think a very important part of our role is to really shine a
spotlight on the key issues that lead to inequity in the world," he says.
Microsoft Corp. founder and philanthropist Bill Gates and his wife
Melinda Gates attend to a child as they meet with members of the
Mushar community at Jamsot Village near Patna, India, on March 23.
Enlarge Aftab Alam Siddiqui/AP
Microsoft Corp. founder and philanthropist Bill Gates and his wife
Melinda Gates attend to a child as they meet with members of the
Mushar community at Jamsot Village near Patna, India, on March 23.
"And I always like to say that even if our grants don't always succeed,
the only failure is if we don't learn because part of what we have to do
in order to contribute to society is, we have to take risks," Raikes says.
Like most foundations, the Gates organization works with partners
and grantees — thousands of them — who do the heavy lifting on the
ground. And having strong relationships with them is critical.
But in an independent survey last year, many partners said the
foundation didn't understand their goals, was inconsistent in its
communications and often unresponsive.
Raikes says those things have prevented the foundation from
reaching its full potential.
Thursday night Melinda Gates talked about the need for honest
feedback from partners; Raikes talks about it too. And both say they
hope the new headquarters' design, with its many informal meeting
spaces and wide-open architecture, will lead to more collaboration
and a richer exchange of ideas.
NPR is among the organizations that receive money from the Gates
Foundation.
by Wendy Kaufman
NPR
June 3, 2011
About a thousand people joined Bill and Melinda Gates Thursday
night to celebrate the opening of the foundation's new campus in
Seattle.
"You know when you work on a project like this you start with a goal,"
Melinda Gates said. "And at the end of the day, this campus is about
us having an impact on the world for the people we serve, whether
they are in Bangladesh or in Boston or in Botswana or Nigeria."
The foundation spends most of its money on global health, with
sizable sums going to global development and efforts to improve
public schools in the U.S.
In order to keep its tax-exempt status, the foundation has to give
away about $3 billion a year. Stacy Palmer, editor of the Chronicle of
Philanthropy, says the foundation's influence goes far beyond that.
The Gates Foundation
Founded in 1994
Based in Seattle
Since 1994, it has granted more than $24 billion
It gave out $2.6 billion in 2010
More than 900 employees
Supports initiatives in all 50 states and Washington, D.C., and in
more than 100 countries
— More about the foundation
Taking Over?
"They're influencing governments in lots of different ways — and
corporations, and really everybody else in society, and it's not just
about writing checks," she says.
It's about setting agendas, framing debates, advocating the
foundation's point of view and taking action. Palmer says the
foundation has changed the perception of what a private organization
can do.
"And that is a good thing," she says. "Because it's getting more
people involved. But if you don't like what their agenda is — then it's
an unchecked way of getting things done and that bothers a lot of
people."
Right now, for example, there's a lot of talk about the foundation's
effort to improve public schools. It's focusing on better classroom
instruction and is using data — including student test scores — to
gauge how well teachers are doing.
"I have no doubt that the movement Bill Gates has launched has
created enormous hostility toward teachers," says Diane Ravitch, who
has been studying American education for 40 years.
The New York University professor has emerged as the most
outspoken critic of the foundation's approach.
"It's like all accountability for educational failure is suddenly plopped
on the heads of teachers, and this is wrong," she says.
Moreover, Ravitch contends that when the foundation supports think
tanks, academics and others who agree with its point of view, it
drowns out other voices. Referring to Bill Gates, she says, one man
shouldn't have so much power.
Achieving Objectives
"I think Diane is really underestimating the number of voices that are
out there, including her own," says Jeff Raikes, CEO of the Gates
Foundation.
He dismisses Ravitch's contention that the foundation has
commandeered the education debate. At the same time he makes no
apologies for the organization's doggedness in trying to achieve its
objectives.
"We do think a very important part of our role is to really shine a
spotlight on the key issues that lead to inequity in the world," he says.
Microsoft Corp. founder and philanthropist Bill Gates and his wife
Melinda Gates attend to a child as they meet with members of the
Mushar community at Jamsot Village near Patna, India, on March 23.
Enlarge Aftab Alam Siddiqui/AP
Microsoft Corp. founder and philanthropist Bill Gates and his wife
Melinda Gates attend to a child as they meet with members of the
Mushar community at Jamsot Village near Patna, India, on March 23.
"And I always like to say that even if our grants don't always succeed,
the only failure is if we don't learn because part of what we have to do
in order to contribute to society is, we have to take risks," Raikes says.
Like most foundations, the Gates organization works with partners
and grantees — thousands of them — who do the heavy lifting on the
ground. And having strong relationships with them is critical.
But in an independent survey last year, many partners said the
foundation didn't understand their goals, was inconsistent in its
communications and often unresponsive.
Raikes says those things have prevented the foundation from
reaching its full potential.
Thursday night Melinda Gates talked about the need for honest
feedback from partners; Raikes talks about it too. And both say they
hope the new headquarters' design, with its many informal meeting
spaces and wide-open architecture, will lead to more collaboration
and a richer exchange of ideas.
NPR is among the organizations that receive money from the Gates
Foundation.
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