Bloomberg Goes Public With Giving as Mayoral Term Winds Down

In his third and final term as New York’s mayor, Michael R. Bloomberg has become much more public about his private giving, writes the Los Angeles Times.

Although he once made large gifts anonymously to avoid blurring his political and philanthropic roles, the billionaire media mogul has lately made several publicized multimillion-dollar donations in support of favored policy causes, including Thursday’s announcement of $30-million for an ambitious New York City program to bolster educational and economic prospects for young black and Latino men.

Mr. Bloomberg’s foundation also recently gave $50-million to the Sierra Club’s anti-coal campaign and $24-million to five other cities to support innovative government projects.

“Part of this for Bloomberg is about his legacy and part is figuring out the next chapter of his life and how to achieve the goals that are most important to him when his first name is no longer ‘mayor,’” said Joyce Purnick, who has written a biography of Mr. Bloomberg.

The mayor’s new Young Men’s Initiative has drawn both praise and criticism for its strategies and its mix of philanthropy and public policy, the Associated Press and The New York Times say.

“You have private money which is pushing where the public money will be spent,” said Susan Lerner of Common Cause New York, a government-watchdog group. “Where’s the evaluation process? Where’s the public input?”