Foundations: Being Big About It

What is the mighty Ford Foundation up to? Last week it reported that in fiscal 1962 it gave away $225.7 million—60% more than the year before. The giving was not in the style of lesser philanthropists: pinpoint aid to struggling causes. Ford is so big ($2.3 billion, book value) that it has developed a new style of giving. The foundation sustains entire school systems, universities and fields of study—the "critical" ideas and institutions that it deems worthy of continuous support. Not everyone agrees with all of its choices, concedes President Henry T. Heald, but "we do not read...