The program officer: Negotiating the politics of philanthropy

This paper, part of a broader study on philanthropy and farmworker organizing in California’s Central Valley, examines the pivotal role of foundation program officers in grantmaking. It argues that their work, while potentially addressing political and economic inequity, often constrains grantee approaches through professional processes and program frameworks. These frameworks can inadvertently place responsibility for betterment on impoverished individuals, obscuring the systemic economic relationships that create such situations. The study, based on interviews, reveals the conflicted identities of program officers, who navigate between the ideals of social change and the realities of foundation practices, sometimes perpetuating "myths" of individual self-help.