Signed by sixty-six scholars and cosponsored by eight leading think tanks, For a New Thrift describes the growing polarization in today’s financial landscape between two very different kinds of institutions.  Pro-thrift institutions serve well-off Americans and provide a broad array of tax-advantaged savings plans and financial services.  Anti-thrift institutions serve Americans who are stuggling to live paycheck to paycheck with short-term loan at usurious interest rates.  For a New Thrift calls for efforts to rebuild broadly democratic, pro-thrift institutions that will serve and reward the “small saver.”

The Commission on Thrift is a project of the Institute for American Values in partnership with the Institute for Advanced Studies in Culture, New America Foundation, Public Agenda, Demos, the Consumer Federation of America, and the National Federation of Community Development Credit Unions.

Now Available as an E-Book!

In Generosity Unbound, Claire Gaudiani mounts a spirited defense of philanthropic freedom addressed to conservatives, liberals and centrists. She acknowledges the good intentions of those who favor greater regulation of private philanthropy, but powerfully demonstrates the dangers of this approach.

But this book is more than a warning. Gaudiani also uncovers the fascinating history of philanthropy in America, showing how this nation’s distinctive tradition of citizen-to-citizen generosity has been a powerful engine of economic growth, social justice, and upward mobility.

Finally, Gaudiani calls on foundation leaders, legislators, and concerned citizens to take up anew the great challenge set forth by our nation’s Founders in the Declaration of Independence.  She proposes an all-out citizen-led effort to deliver on the Declaration’s promise of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for all of us, particularly our poorest citizens.  The success of such a ‘Declaration Initiative’ would enable us to justly celebrate the nation’s 250th birthday on July 4th, 2026.

Claire Gaudiani is adjunct professor at the Robert F. Wagner Graduate School of Public Service at New York University and a senior fellow at the Institute for American Values. She served from 1988-2001 as president of Connecticut College and from 2001-2004 as a senior research scholar at the Yale Law School.  She holds ten honorary doctorates and was awarded the Henry Rosso Medal for distinguished service to philanthropy from the Center for Philanthropy at Indiana University. Her previous books included The Greater Good: How Philanthropy Drives the American Economy and Can Save Capitalism and Generosity Rules! A Guidebook to Giving.

What They Are Saying:

“Claire Gaudiani has a well-earned reputation as one of the leading thinkers about American philanthropy. Here she analyzes the challenges of coming years and shows how we can unleash the full idealism and generosity of the nation. She has made yet another welcome contribution.”—David Gergen, Director, Center for Public Leadership, The Kennedy School, Harvard University

“Generosity Unbound unmasks Gaudiani as an unreconstructed, unapologetic believer in the transformative potential of American-style philanthropy. Drawing on appeals to history, reason, pride, and passion, she invites us to envision a role for philanthropy that is worthy of its past. Gaudiani’s ‘Declaration Initiative’ would commit philanthropy to a cause no less noble, ambitious, and essential than that of ending persistent poverty and, at long last, affording all Americans true access to the equal opportunity that lies at the core of the democratic ideal.”—Ralph Smith, Executive Vice President, The Annie E. Casey Foundation

“Gaudiani presents a timely solution to the economic and political crises facing our nation. Generosity Unbound is a fresh look at America’s philanthropic past and how private foundations can be the vanguard of a path back to prosperity— for those hit hardest by the recession, and for our entire nation. ”—Edwin J. Feulner, Jr., President, Heritage Foundation

“Critics of wealthy foundations would do well to read Claire Gaudiani’s powerfully argued defense of American philanthropic freedom. And those who wish to preserve this freedom would do well to consider her bold ‘Declaration Initiative.’ Let’s see what entrepreneurial generosity can accomplish when mobilized around a set of goals consistent with this country’s founding vision.”—J. Gregory Dees, professor, Center for the Advancement of Social, Entrepreneurship, Fuqua School of Business, Duke University

“Claire Gaudiani shows eloquently that the generosity of the American people is rooted in our freedom and our freedom is rooted in our generosity. And she issues a stirring call for new philanthropic leadership that will open the gates of opportunity for all Americans.”—Adam Meyerson, President, Philanthropy Roundtable

“While some would suggest that philanthropy is on its heels, Claire Gaudiani shows us the potential that America’s philanthropic sector has to activate our country’s moral leadership and unleash citizen generosity for the purpose of addressing our unfinished quest for justice for all.”—Tracy Gary, author and founder, Inspired Legacies and The Progressive Legacy Project

“Claire Gaudiani’s Generosity Unbound is a welcome dose of ‘common sense for the common good’ of our nation. Her challenge to philanthropic leaders of all political stripes—left, right, and center—to gather around a shared goal of meaningful opportunity and prosperity for all Americans should be heeded. Perhaps philanthropy can model what too many of our political leaders seem to be unable or unwilling to do: construct a safe place where our nation’s ideas are not needlessly trampled by ideologies.”—Robert K. Ross, M.D., President and CEO, The California Endowment

“Generosity Unbound shows how the philanthropic tradition is firmly rooted in American history and culture. It serves as a critical inspiration and challenge to today’s leaders to preserve the freedom and opportunity that make this tradition a uniquely vibrant force for good in the world.”—James Piereson, President, William E. Simon Foundation

“In this vitally important book, Claire Gaudiani convincingly makes the case that philanthropy has the capacity—and must use it—to heal the divisions in our society and to advance a renewed and enduring commitment to social justice that meets the challenges of our times.”—Stephen Heintz, President, Rockefeller Brothers Fund

Just Released!

Collected here for the first time is a history of images of Oman, one of the most developed and stable countries in the Arab world and among the earliest adherents to Islam. A sultanate, the country sits along the east coast of the Arabian Peninsula. From early days of world trade through the port of Muscat to contemporary engagement with international diplomacy and the West, Oman has always evoked beauty and mystery in equal measure. This art-house quality volume reveals an intimate picture of the country as its contours emerged over the last 80 years in the eyes of the West, as captured in images by English explorer Wilfred Thesiger in the 1940s and ‘50s, British Army major Charles Butt in the 1960s, and award-winning American documentary photographer Edward Grazda in the first decade of this new century.

Sir Wilfred Patrick Thesiger (1910-2003) was a British explorer and travel writer born in Addis Ababa, the capital of Ethiopia. Thesiger is best known for two travel books: Arabian Sands (1959), which recounts his travels in the Empty Quarter of Arabia between 1945 and 1950 and describes the vanishing way of life of the Bedouins. The Marsh Arabs (1964) is an account of the Madan, the indigenous people of the marshlands of southern Iraq. Thesiger took many photographs during his travels and donated his vast collection of 23,000 negatives to the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford.

Charles Butt served as a Major in the Sultan’s Armed Forces from 1966-1978. He was initially Station Staff Officer administering 1,500 men. He then commanded the desert Advanced Base supporting operation forces on the hills and borders, before being transferred to the Gendarmerie, where he acted as Squadron Commander. He was promoted to Force Welfare Officer and subsequently became Deputy Joint Services Welfare Officer, Ministry of Defence. He was a keen amateur photographer (and member of the Royal Photographic Society) and took over 10,000 cover photographs while living and serving in the Middle East.  These photos now form part of The Charles Butt Photographic Collection at the Middle East Center at St. Anthony’s College.

Edward Grazda studied photography at the Rhode Island School of Design and has shot extensively throughout Latin America and Asia. Grazda’s work has been collected by New York City’s Metropolitan Museum of Art and Museum of Modern Art, the Corcoran Gallery in Washington, D.C., and the San Francisco Museum of Art, among others. His images have also been published in the New Yorker, Vanity Fair, Double Take, Granta, and other prominent magazines. Grazda teaches photography at Harvard University and the International Center of Photography in New York. He has received grants from the New York Foundation for the Arts and the National Endowment for the Arts, and he has been a fellow at MacDowell Colony and the recipient of many awards.

Raina Sacks Blankenhorn is the executive vice president of the Institute for American Values and the founder of the Institute’s Center for Global Engagement, where she serves as an editor of IjtihadReason.org, an online journal published in Arabic and English. Over the past decade she has developed and co-sponsored academic conferences and cultural projects with colleagues in both the United States and the Middle East. Blankenhorn, a published photographer, received her B.A. in American history from Harvard University. She lives with her husband and their three children in New York City.

What They Are Saying:

“Three Views of Oman is a great example of the dialogue of cultures. Rather than repeating the Orientalist approach that has weakened so many Western studies of Arabic societies, this book builds a new bridge between two civilizations with different histories but shared values.” — Radwan Ziadeh, George Washington University

“This album illustrates that photography does more than capture moments of physical reality on paper. It is a medium between the contemplator and our widely strange and unknown world. Through the camera eye a window stays open, transferring moments from the past into the future, letting us participate again and again in something that has been, in a sense, lost. Three Views of Oman is a wonderful experience.” — Michael R.N. Jansen, Aachen University