The William &Flora Hewlett Foundation
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THE WILLIAM & FLORA HEWLETT FOUNDATION THE WILLIAM & FLORA HEWLETT FOUNDATION # TWO PALO ALTO SQUARE/PALO ALTO, CALIFORNIA 94304 Office of the Foundation: Two Palo Alto Square Palo Alto, California 94304 (4!5)493-3665 The Hewlett Foundation, incorporated others are in the process of definition. as a private foundation in the State of Special Projects outside these four California in 1966, was established by broad areas may from time to time be the Palo Alto industrialist William R. approved by the Board of Directors. Hewlett, his wife. Flora Lamson Hew Although the Hewlett Foundation is lett, and their eldest son, Walter B. a national foundation, with no geo Hewlett. The Foundation's broad pur graphic limit stipulated in its charter, pose, as stated in the articles of incor a modest proportion of disbursable poration, is to promote the well-being funds has been earmarked for projects of mankind by supporting selected in the San Francisco Bay Area. The activities of a charitable, religious, sci Foundation does not make grants to entific, literary, or educational nature, individuals, nor does it normally fund as well as organizations or institutions basic research. engaged in such activities. In its grant-making decisions as well as in its interests and activities, the More particularly, to date the Founda Hewlett Foundation is wholly inde tion has concentrated its resources on pendent of the Hewlett-Packard activities in the performing arts and the Company. humanities; education, particularly at the university and college level; popu The Foundation plans grant authoriza lation problems; and intelligent, life- tions for 1979 of approximately $7 enhancing uses of the environment. million. Prospective applicants should Some sub-areas of particular interest consult the Program Descriptions and to the Foundation are listed in the Advice to Applicants later in this Program Descriptions that follow; Report. 3 BOARD OF DIRECTORS WILLIAM R. HEWLETT, Chairman ROGER W. HEYNS, President WALTER B. HEWLETT Vice President & Secretary -Treasurer ROBERT MINGE BROWN WILLIAM A. HEWLETT LYLE M. NELSON 4 ADMINISTRATIVE STAFF ROGER W. HEYNS President HUGH C. BURROUGHS Program Officer THEODORE E. LOBMAN Program Officer ANNE FIRTH MURRAY Program Officer MARIANNE PALLOTTI Assistant to the President C. TED PERRY Business & Financial Officer DYKE BROWN VIRGINIA L. HUBBELL Consultants 5 Foreign graduate students receive training in the latest demographic techniques at university population centers in the United States. iL CONTENTS President's Statement Program Descriptions 13 Authorizations and Disbursements, 1978 25 Advice to Applicants 39 Financial Statements 43 The Julian Theatre has been producing works by new playwrights continuously since 1965. 8 f y'u.jrru///j rSy/a/s ///r/// That America today abounds in special-interest groups has been widely observed. Yet along with legislators, governors, and the President of the United States, the staff of a foundation with a broad range of program in terests is peculiarly well situated to appreciate the dimensions and costs of this phenomenon. Each week brings a large number of requests from such groups in every area of Foundation interest. The relations among them are typically highly competitive; on occa sion, however, they appear to be un aware that the others exist. We recognize that in many ways the present fragmentation can be seen as benign. A multiplicity of special- interest groups is consistent with a tradition of pluralism. The public good is often advanced by privately man aged organizations supported by loyal, hard-working members, most of whom volunteer their time and ener gies. Membership in such organiza tions has given many men and women a sense of participation, and the reali zation that the efforts, ideas, and re- 9 PRESIDENT'S STATEMENT sources of a few private citizens can rewarding, if not impossible, to seek make a difference. The public educa the general welfare; they perceive their tion efforts of many of these organiza re-election to rest upon the erratic tions have undoubtedly increased support of constantly changing coali public understanding of important, tions. Single-issue candidates, by complex issues. A healthy free society contrast, while finding it easier than requires a lively community of private, formerly to get elected, are poorly not-for-profit associations that deliver equipped to deal with the broad range public services, provide cultural op of responsibilities that confront them portunities, and monitor and influence in office or to negotiate with others government behavior. elected by a similarly single-minded constituency. Some effects of this multiplicity are less benign, particularly those engendered Another serious, unfortunate conse by single-issue, single-value groups quence of this fragmentation of our that have as their main focus the influ society into single-issue, single-value encing of government policy. Our most segments has been the gradual under urgent problems are too complex to be mining of organizations with hetero defined in terms of single issues, and geneous memberships. Traditionally most solutions lie in reconciling differ such organizations have themselves ences and making trade-offs between been vehicles for consensus-building. competing values. The laborious and Increasingly, however, these broadly largely ineffective process, in relation based organizations are being weak to both need and urgency, by which ened as groups formed by highly mo the nation has arrived at a rudimentary tivated factions of their membership energy policy illustrates the pathology grow stronger. Leaders of the broader of the present situation. Special-interest organizations find themselves in a groups have effectively canceled one predicament analogous to that of the another out, thus immobilizing the elected representative: their efforts to problem-solving effort. seek the collective good are often un Elected representatives, including the successful, as well as unappreciated, most able and dedicated, find it less and their tenure in office is short. 10 PRESIDENT'S STATEMENT A heterogeneous democracy requires These considerations have led the organizations that provide broad rep Hewlett Foundation to give special resentation of the public interest. Their attention to the needs of organizations absence guarantees a weakening of that embrace larger concerns, that are consensus, an indisposition to sacrifice engaged in consensus-building, that for common purposes, and, ultimately, are committed to the delicate, artistic the loss of the mutual respect that is process of achieving a balance among necessary if a complex society is to worthwhile, significant objectives. This function effectively. The enormous is not to derogate the value of special- investment we currently are making in interest groups. It is to say that their litigation and other expensive, often support does not seem to us to be sterile, forms of conflict resolution is where help is most urgently needed at further evidence of the seriousness of the present time. Indeed, the very frac- our present situation. tionalization process through which they are formed appears to make it The reasons for this fragmentation are easier for them to acquire funds, except no doubt numerous and complicated. where the contending parties have so The failure of some omnibus organi divided the field that the constituency zations to reflect the needs and inter for each of them is too small. In such ests of all their members is one of cases it seems even less appropriate to them. The capture of bodies nominally encourage them in their present course. responsible to a large constituency by a faction of the membership has Of course, the Foundation does sup prompted other factions to attempt port groups that have a special interest similar feats. The pervasive modern or mission. We are supporting, for emphasis on the primacy of individual example, groups committed to popula desires has also been a factor. But tion planning and to the conservation whatever the reasons, it seems clear to of our natural resources. The organiza us that the present processes are de tions that interest us most, however, structive, and that countervailing are those that include members hold forces should be given strong, con ing a variety of values; that recognize sistent support. in their programs and procedures the 11 PRESIDENT'S STATEMENT multifaceted nature of the problems on a variety of desired ends—these are with which they deal; that employ re not tasks that excite a fervent follow search methods that meet a high stand ing. The overriding goal set forth in the ard of objectivity; and finally, that Foundation's first Annual Report, for show sensitivity to the complex 1977, is to help make ours an effective processes by which our society must society—one in which the institutions arrive at policies that promote the work. We continue in that goal. It is broad public interest. We have a par our belief that the institutions in our ticular interest in organizations whose society most in need of strengthening main objective is the achievement of are those that, while they may espouse consensus. a special interest, consistently show in policy and practice an awareness of We see encouraging signs that organi other interests and of purposes larger zations with balanced views, respect than their own. for opposing ideas, and the capacity for credible fact-finding and analyses are increasingly being heeded