Press Releases

Summer Responsive Philanthropy focuses on Duke Cunningham, the National Heritage Foundation, Abramoff's Marianas Islands dealings, and successful coalition work behind the banning of the juvenile death penalty

A 5-4 Supreme Court decision ending the juvenile death penalty in March of this year was the result of well-planned and strategic coordination among a handful of foundations and progressive nonprofits. The multi-faceted advocacy and education campaign would not have succeeded had it not been for a core group of foundations willing to grant monies for general operating support and policy advocacy. Adam Conner and Betsy Williams, NCRP interns, narrate the highlights of the campaign's success, through interviews of foundation officials and nonprofit advocates.

Other articles in the summer 2005 Responsive Philanthropy are as follows:

• "The Duke's Demise" by Rick Cohen explores the seedy connections between Rep. Randall "Duke" Cunningham's real estate transactions with Mitchell Wade, CEO of a newly prosperous defense contractor, and his face-saving philanthropic efforts which favor less-than-favorable San Diego nonprofit and political players.

• "National Heritage Foundation: Pushing Tax Laws to the Limit" by Jeff Krehely shows how the National Heritage Foundation (NHF) provides comprehensive "technical assistance" on how to use nonprofit tax laws for personal enrichment. At the helm of NHF are John Houk (once under IRS investigation) and his family, whose NHF grants list looks more like a personal checkbook ledger than a foundation portfolio.

• "The Story of Saipan: DeLay's Petri Dish and Another Abramoff Gold Mine" by Naomi Tacuyan investigates how the Marianas Islands and its garment industry represent yet another strand in Jack Abramoff's unethical weaving of politics, business, and charity. To the tune of $9.5 million over the span of a decade, Abramoff and his associates lobbied to keep federal labor laws out of the U.S. Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands, whose government and industry leaders still view Abramoff and DeLay as demigods of U.S. capitalism.