In early December, Vantage Point’s president and principal historian, Eric Abrahamson, joined a group of specialists from across the United States in a special conference commemorating the 50th anniversary of the Tax Reform Act of 1969. Read a description of the event from a Hofstra University online publication below:
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“About the Conference”
The Tax Reform Act of 1969 represents a signal moment in the birth and development of the “Third Sector.” While historians debate the origin story, to many scholars and practitioners alike, 1969 was the beginning of a robust regulatory framework with ramifications for today’s philanthropic work. During the decade-long implementation of the new legislation, scholars, foundation professionals, and policymakers increasingly began to articulate the necessity of a third, or nonprofit, sector as a balancing element to the public and for-profit sectors — indeed as a balancing force necessary for democracy. Fifty years later, the regulatory framework established by the Act is often taken for granted. The Act and its impact have been studied by historians, legal scholars, and policy analysts, but many more rich veins for research remain untapped. This convening aims to bring together a core group of individuals who have been committed to understanding the Act and its legacy, the transformative effect it has had on the third sector, and the relationship of the sector to private wealth, American public life, and the common good. The convening’s invitees span the fields of law, policy, history, and foundation practice, and have never been brought together before.
At the same time, the Archive Center itself plays a role in Third Sector transparency and accountability. As the repository of the archival records of some three dozen foundations and civil society organizations, the RAC is uniquely positioned to foster scholarship and deep engagement with historical episodes that may provide lessons for the present.
This conference brings together four expert groups: lawyers, scholars, policy/sector professionals, and program officers. The conversation possible among these groups is distinctive in that it mobilizes expertise and in many cases lived experience dealing with legal structures, ideological frameworks, and philanthropic practice. We anticipate that the primary outcome of this meeting will be a refreshed research agenda that not only adds to historical understanding but also takes into account the current and forecasted challenges the sector must face. We intend to self-publish a proceedings that we hope will be widely read throughout the sector and fittingly mark the fiftieth anniversary of the still-relevant Act.”