This
book discusses a series of related but independent challenges faced by
philanthropic foundations, drawing on international, contemporary and
historical data.  Throughout the world,
private philanthropic foundations spend huge sums of money for public good
while the media, policy-makers and the public have little understanding of what
they do and why. Diana Leat considers
the following questions: Are philanthropic foundations more than warehouses of
wealth? Where does foundation money come from, and is there a tension between a
foundation’s ongoing sources of income and its pursuit of public good? How are
foundations regulated and held accountable in society? Is there any evidence
that foundations are effective in what they do? Is it possible to have too much
philanthropy? In posing these questions, the book explores some of the key
tensions in how foundations work, and their place in democratic societies.