--- description: Find out who else is on the TIME100 Most Influential People in Philanthropy 2026 list. title: TIME100 Philanthropy: William A. Schambra image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfbba2a6068f0bc67/69fe3af50dc16f5827e15658/t100-philanthropy-William_A_Schambra.jpg?branch=production&width=3840&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 --- May 14, 2026 # William A. Schambra A critic of elite philanthropy by Nandita Raghuram  Courtesy Hudson Institute William Schambra knows his perspectives on philanthropy are at odds with a lot of people in the sector. Schambra calls himself a localist conservative, meaning he believes local communities know best how to address their own problems, “and there’s plenty of criticism for the left and for the establishment right from that position,” he says. As co-editor of the conservative philanthropy publication the _Giving Review_ and Hudson Institute senior fellow emeritus, he’s one of the most prominent right-leaning critics of the sector. But his critiques of ideological elitism in large foundations have attracted interest from across the political spectrum, including from [Darren Walker](https://www.philanthropy.com/opinion/in-the-face-of-conservative-populism-darren-walker-gets-it-right/ "undefined"), who invited Schambra to address the board of the Ford Foundation while Walker was serving as president. Schambra has [long](https://phillysoc.org/schambra-charity-progressive-philanthropy-and-eugenics/ "undefined") [argued](https://www.pacefunders.org/pdf/essays/Schambra%20FINAL.pdf "undefined") that the [sector](https://www.hudson.org/politics-government/what-will-philanthropic-sector-look-2030-funders-will-continue-investing-william-a-schambra "undefined"), particularly progressive philanthropy, overinvests in expert-driven, ideological strategies meant to address the root causes of problems, but “under invests in the people who are trying simply to solve the problem as they experience them.” The right isn’t immune to Schambra’s critiques, either. While prominent conservative voices in the sector have opposed strengthening regulations on donor advised funds, Schambra has been highly critical of DAFs, which he calls a “device for wealthy investment houses to trap private money.” According to Schambra, rather than taking a top-down, donor-knows-best approach, philanthropy is at its best when it “encourages widespread civic engagement to solve problems—immediate, practical problems—within communities.” ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"Article","@id":"https://time.com/collection/time100-philanthropy/2026/william-a-schambra/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/collection/time100-philanthropy/2026/william-a-schambra/"},"headline":"William A. Schambra","datePublished":"2026-05-14T12:02:10.000Z","dateModified":"2026-05-14T12:34:48.109Z","description":"","url":"https://time.com/collection/time100-philanthropy/2026/william-a-schambra/","keywords":["list","franchise","Accolades","Magazine","Philanthropy 2026"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfbba2a6068f0bc67/69fe3af50dc16f5827e15658/t100-philanthropy-William_A_Schambra.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Nandita Raghuram"}],"creator":"Nandita Raghuram","articleSection":"TIME100","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/bltfbba2a6068f0bc67/69fe3af50dc16f5827e15658/t100-philanthropy-William_A_Schambra.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/time100/","name":"TIME100"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/collection/time100-philanthropy/2026/william-a-schambra/","name":"William A. Schambra"}}]}] ```