Susan Ostrander, a respectable philanthropy researcher, summarized in her Winter 2007 Nonprofit Management & Leadership case study titled Innovation and Accountability at Three Private Foundations that "other research has concluded that private foundations typically exercise near total authority and autonomy in making decisions about funding priorities--what one might call exercising independence in a tradition of pluralism".  Uh, hello? This is news? 

Probably not, but kudos to Susan for stating what is clearly experienced by the masses of grantees across the US who must rely on private foundation funding (to at least find solutions to social issues or support the arts and education).

Susan's advice to foundations: be innovative; be accountable, be independent.

Let's hope so.