Remembering and honoring the best of conservatism, philanthropy, and conservative philanthropy.
There are many reasons to appreciate The Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation’s honoring of James Piereson with one of its Bradley Prizes. Among them are its recognition of the important role of conservative philanthropy overall and, in particular, the value of and understanding—and, for conservatives, cherishing—its history.
“I am grateful to The Bradley Foundation, and to Richard Graber and the selection committee, for judging me worthy of this prize. The Bradley Prizes are the most distinguished of all awards given to conservatives here and around the world,” Piereson said when the honor was announced last month.
I am even more grateful for this award because I have worked along-side and in collaboration with colleagues at The Bradley Foundation for four decades during my tenure at the John M. Olin Foundation and, more recently, with the Thomas W. Smith Foundation. Many dear friends are included in the roster of past winners of this prize. I feel privileged to join their company.
James Piereson. Credit: Bradley Foundation.
From 1985 to 2005, Piereson was executive director and a trustee of the John M. Olin Foundation—from where the Bradley Foundation’s first president, Michael S. Joyce, came. From 2006 to 2022, Piereson was president of the William E. Simon Foundation, which sunsetted its grant program in 2023 at the direction of William E. Simon, who had led the Olin Foundation and ensured that it spent itself out too, which was always John M. Olin’s intent. Piereson is now a trustee of the John W. Smith Foundation, as well as a senior fellow of the Manhattan Institute.
During a Bradley Center on Philanthropy and Civic Renewal event at the Hudson Institute in 2012, “What Is Conservative Philanthropy?,” Piereson described “the growth of conservatism and conservative philanthropy from a movement generally at the margins of political debate to one that has fought its way into the political mainstream. Having done so, it has rendered the mainstream more contentious and unstable.”
The Bradley Prizes are in their 21st year, and by my recollection, only two recipients have been executives or officers of foundations. The other is Bradley Foundation president Michael W. Grebe, who was given the honor as he was retiring in 2016.
I recall the gratitude of one of my Bradley Foundation mentors, Daniel P. Schmidt, that Piereson attended a luncheon in late 2016 in honor of Schmidt as he was retiring. Hosted by the Manhattan Institute’s then-president Larry Mone and held at the Penn Club in New York City, Piereson delivered the most gracious of remarks that, to me, represented the best of conservatism, philanthropy, and conservative philanthropy, and those figures in it, some of whom I was blessed to know.
Piereson touchingly referenced Schmidt’s patriotism and love of country, perhaps particularly the Midwest and Milwaukee, Piereson noted with humor and warmth. Piereson talked about how philanthropy and those professionals at work in it are connectors and enablers, saying he and Schmidt are also lucky to have been able to do so for so long. Piereson said Schmidt did it well and with humility, which allowed for the doing of it so well. Of course, they both did it well, but Piereson couldn’t and wouldn’t have been expected to say that. Piereson also told a brief “war story” or two, too, and discussed other experiences he and Schmidt shared.
It would be wrong, in my opinion—as both moral and practical matters—to qualify or limit Piereson’s observations at the luncheon about philanthropy and how to pursue it by adding “at the time” or “of that era” to them. We should, we need to, remember those who’ve come before us—their intent, what was important to them, the way they worked, and how they dealt with challenges no lesser and maybe even greater than ones being faced today. Remember and honor.
Piereson will receive his Bradley Prize at a May 29 ceremony in Washington, D.C.
This article first appeared in the Giving Review on April 23, 2025.
