I just watched a recommended video on gratitude that was sponsored by the Greater Good Science Center and decided to look into it. Their ‘Spreading Love Through the Media’ project reads less like a public service and more like a soft attempt to redirect attention away from the material conditions people are living under. When institutions with elite backing promote ‘connection’ and ‘empathy’ as the antidote to a world shaped by inequality and conflict, it becomes hard not to read it as a subtle form of deflection—an invitation to feel better instead of look closer.
Spreading Love Through Media, the Regrantor Way
If you get your news from headlines on your cellphone, or even mainstream media, the view of humanity presented can seem overwhelmingly negative. The Greater Good Science Center (GGSC) at University of California Berkeley is launching a counteroffensive: “Spreading Love Through the Media,” a content creation and regranting initiative that will support compelling journalism and social media projects about human goodness. This effort will drive new content for GGSC’s own site and support journalists and new media creators focused on stories about the transformative power of love — romantic love, but also parental love, love for strangers and love for humankind. It aims to counterbalance the glut of media dishing out endless stories about war, division and authoritarianism — and in doing so, encourage a cultural shift toward more empathy and connection.
The John Templeton Foundation made a three-year grant for the project, which includes money to hire a journalist to run it and create stories for GGSC’s website, and $450,000 earmarked to support grantees. Additional funding from Acton Family Giving and Unlikely Collaborators [Koch network via Elizabeth Koch], a company devoted to helping people resolve internal conflicts, will help cover things like scientific advisors paired with grantees and travel for grantees to attend events.
Related:
In 2019, the Templeton Foundation was a major source of funding for ten right-leaning advocacy organizations and one left-leaning one. Center-right organizations receiving grants of over $100,000 from the Templeton Foundation in 2019 included the Acton Institute ($388,000), the Atlas Economic Research Foundation ($1,610,000), the Cato institute ($590,000), Foundation for Economic Education ($540,000), Foundation for Excellence in Higher Education ($211,000), Fraser Institute ($210,000), Heterodox Academy ($860,000), Liberty Fund ($1,380,000), Mercatus Center ($530,000), and Philanthropy Roundtable ($150,000). The foundation gave the left-leaning New Venture Fund [Dark money] $150,000 for general operating support in that year.
Elizabeth Koch is the CEO of Catapult, a publishing firm, and the daughter of billionaire Charles Koch of Koch Industries. She has also helped found other organizations such as Unlikely Collaborators, New Balloon and Tiny Blue Dot Foundation.
While her father and uncle are known for being major donors to conservative and libertarian causes, Elizabeth Koch describes herself as apolitical.
The Regranters: Who They Are, How They Work, and Why You Can’t Ignore Them
Two Layers of Approval
You’re not just writing for one funder — you’re writing for two.
The regranting organization has to like you.
And the entity that gave them the money has to feel good about where it’s going.
Regranting: How Foundations Can Help grassroots communities in Europe
Ms. Cat’s Chronicles 