Scott Walter

Scott Walter is President of the Capital Research Center in Washington, D.C. He also heads Campion Consulting, which provides philanthropic consulting for donors in the fields of education, civic literacy, and aid to the underprivileged; and customized writing for nonprofits and businesses. Scott served in the Bush Administration as Special Assistant to the President for Domestic Policy. He was responsible for all educational issues from pre-K through postdoctoral levels. His portfolio also included Head Start, assimilation of immigrants, faith-based and community initiatives, and the Corporation for National and Community Service. Prior to joining the White House, Scott was vice president for publications and research at the Philanthropy Roundtable, a donor group. There he edited Philanthropy magazine, one of the field’s most respected journals, and also produced numerous donor guidebooks on such topics as charter schools, assisting the poor, school choice, conservation giving, and funding public policy research. Scott has also been a senior editor at the American Enterprise Institute’s flagship publication and a senior fellow at the Becket Fund for Religious Liberty. A graduate of Georgetown University, Scott lives with his wife, Erica, and their four children in Maryland.

Donor intent gone wrong

History is littered with examples of philanthropists who failed to secure the legacy they intended.




Do persons matter?

Particular men and women, so some folks tell us, aren’t that important, because if you really want to “change the world” and help people, you must turn your gaze from the person you see in front of you and contemplate instead social structures/societal forces/the “root causes” of poverty.