It was Easter morning in Kenya and we were in a bus making our way from Kisumu to Kijabe. All along the road we saw groups of people walking and running to church. Some were singing as they went while others were almost skipping in anticipation of the service. There were congregations meeting in churches while others were simply clustered in open fields around a large cross planted in the ground as a sign of the place to worship. Every Sunday – every day – is colorful in Africa but that day was especially so. Robes, headdresses, suits and ties were brilliant everywhere and on everyone. Had we not been so…

Years ago I taught Dostoevsky’s Crime and Punishment to high school seniors. The central theme of the book is the alienation of the main character, Raskolnikov, from society. The isolated young man sees himself as superior to all other people and cannot relate to anyone. A loner, he considers other people only as tools to be used. Seeing himself as a Superman, a person who is extraordinary and above the moral rules that govern the rest of humanity, he is driven to an act that will clearly distinguish him from those who are bound by the law and will prove his superiority: the gruesome murder of an old woman. He describes the…

I used to ask myself why one of my favorite columnists, George Will, was not reading my blog. Maybe I should use words like “obfuscate” or “bloviating” or toss in more references to baseball? It’s pride, of course. A growing family of reading friends could not make up for my being so exiguous to George. For anyone writing a blog or a column there are a number of analytical tools available to show how many people open, click through, and forward what you write. It’s not only that the more controversial posts get the most reactions and followers but, ironically, people like to follow those they might otherwise despise just…

There is no topic more widely discussed and fretted about in family philanthropy than donor intent. Horror stories (both true and fabricated) are floated by institutions and endowments warning parents there is a high likelihood that their children will abandon their values and wishes almost as soon as both parents have been laid to rest. The classic example is the Ford Foundation whose trustees, according to the story, were so blatant about diverting from Henry Ford’s instructions that his son resigned from the Board in disgust, claiming the trustees had betrayed their responsibilities by funding causes that would have been abhorrent to his father’s intentions. In fact, while it is…