Montana Senator Pushes Effort to Focus on ‘Inequality in Giving’

Sen. Max Baucus, Democrat of Montana, who chairs the Senate Finance Committee, has helped organize a

conference next month in his home state to discuss ways that foundations can step up their giving to rural areas.

The Chronicle posed numerous questions to Mr. Baucus about his goals for the conference and for rural philanthropy. Following are excerpts from the written responses he provided:

At the Council on Foundations’ annual conference last year, you called on foundations to double their giving to rural America, or if new to rural grant making, to devote 5 to 10 percent of their giving to those regions, within five years. Is this still your goal?

That’s still my goal, and I applaud the foundations who voluntarily share which organizations, communities, and regions receive their grants. Voluntary reporting, however, has its inadequacies and inconsistencies. I am open to ways in which to increase transparency so we can better understand where and why inequities exist and why rural areas are losing out.

You also asked foundations to commit by Labor Day 2006 to increasing their rural giving. Did you get such commitments?

I’ve certainly heard from foundation folks who are already doing great work in rural areas and who want to do more. I have seen an increased commitment to rural regions by foundations across the country, some of whom have doubled or tripled their rural giving already.

The Council on Foundations’ Conference on Rural Philanthropy, in Montana this August, grew out of the challenge, and I am pleased that dozens of foundations have already signed up. I continue to believe there’s much more that can be done in terms of rural giving, across the sector.

Are you considering, or might you consider, legislation to help increase rural philanthropy?

I have always worked to find ways to increase investment in rural communities, and I will continue to do so. Because of the tax benefit enjoyed by private foundations, I will continue to urge philanthropic organizations to respond to inequities in charitable giving with increased fairness and to utilize that tax benefit to impact the struggling regions in our country. I believe in forging effective partnerships. I will continue to urge the philanthropy community to utilize existing legislation to help local communities, as the Kellogg Foundation has done in Montana, through funding organizations to help working people receive the earned-income tax credit.

What role do you think the Finance Committee, or Congress in general, can play in moving this issue forward?

Many of us on the committee and in the Congress represent rural areas and have an interest in correcting the inequality in giving. The upcoming conference I am organizing is a prime example of how Congress can help to bridge the gap, by creating links between philanthropy and rural communities. It’s a first step. Congress also has oversight capacity to encourage federal agencies to coordinate their resources more effectively to revitalize rural communities.

What is your main goal for the rural-philanthropy conference?

I hope the conference will be the first of many serious efforts to harness the power of philanthropy to revitalize rural communities. I want more foundations to understand the opportunities they have to powerfully affect rural areas through philanthropy. Many times in Montana, a well-placed grant will impact a region spanning five or six counties.

I also hope foundations will rethink the challenges involved in rural grant making by talking to folks on the ground. It’s not enough to consider rural philanthropy from 30,000 feet, without talking to the folks who are in the trenches on a daily basis.