Philanthropy's Monopoly Era Has Ended

A few years ago, I worked closely with the Open Markets Institute, the organization that pushed the debate on monopoly power to the political mainstream.

That work helped me understand that monopolies are not just about market share; they’re also about influence. When one or two organizations dominate a field, they begin shaping incentives, assumptions, and the very rules of the game that everyone else is playing.

I found myself returning to that idea while editing this issue of Grassroots Grantmaking. For the past three decades, the very concept of philanthropy has been controlled by a relatively small number of institutions: major foundations, conferences, publications, and geographies. There was a clear center of gravity for anyone engaged in charitable giving, and it defined strategy, best practices and legitimacy.

That’s changing. As the stories in this issue suggest, the old institutions aren't disappearing, but they no longer have a tight grip of control on how the field understands itself.

In our lead story, Jan Masaoka argues that the era of foundation dominance is coming to a close. Nan Ransohoff's essay on the "Third Wave" of philanthropy sparked many thoughtful responses about how this next generation of wealth should be deployed. But most responses start from the assumption that the next trillion dollars will still flow through staffed, private foundations.

Jan challenges the "Philanthropic Beltway" to look at where the action is actually taking place: increasingly, in donor-advised funds and in conversations with individual stewards of wealth who show little interest in starting foundations that behave like their predecessors.

In our next piece, we check in with a new set of power players: donor advisors. Jessica Dudley is a university professor who also works as a guide for the individual donors and DAF holders who are doing things their own way. Our conversation centers around the idea that Philanthropy as it’s currently understood around the world is only about seventy-five years old – shaped, in fact, largely by the administration of Richard Nixon. What has been learned can be relearned, and the next generation is open to models that compete with what’s come before.

Ideas and narratives compete, too. The public conversation about philanthropy is becoming broader, with new publications, newsletters, and voices bringing different perspectives to the table. We’re excited to launch a new column, On Media, in which Tirrea Billings will explore how media shapes philanthropy. She’ll dive into how funding is discussed and represented – by funders, journalists, and grassroots organizations – and how those narratives shape what ultimately gets resources.

Finally, we lift up the voices challenging the monopoly of geography. I’ve always been perplexed at why funders from all over the world come to philanthropy conferences in the US and Europe to learn “how things are done”. Over the past decade, increasingly sophisticated philanthropic infrastructure has emerged across the Global South. We’ll continue to cover this trend.

In this issue, Vincent Mwangi reports from the East Africa Philanthropy Conference, where he chatted with the Proximate Fund Sudan about what they’re building outside the confines of postwar humanitarian infrastructure. And Maria Amália Souza reflects on London Climate Week, arguing that Global South foundations are best positioned to deliver on climate commitments.

What will happen next? History shows us that when monopoly power is challenged, it rarely disappears for good; it regroups. Walmart and Microsoft no longer control markets, but the age of Amazon is arguably much more dangerous.

Philanthropy may be entering a similar moment. Just because we are moving away from a centralized culture, it doesn’t mean what’s next will be more democratic. As Jan points out, at least foundations have a front door to knock on, and someone to listen to appeals for reform. 

The world emerging around DAFs and private wealth may ultimately prove even less accountable than what came before. We’ll continue to follow the story.