The progressive movement lost one of its best funders last week. Herb Sandler died on June 5, at age 87. He and his wife Marion, who passed away in 2012, created a foundation that swims against the worst tendencies of social justice philanthropy. We can expect that Herb and Marion’s children Susan and Jim, Steve Daetz and the small staff at the foundation will continue their legacy of unorthodox, high-leverage, low-drama grantmaking.
But Herb’s passing is a good moment to explain why Sandler grant dollars have been worth so much to their recipients and add fuel to the ever-so-slow shift toward long-term general operating support that they’ve helped inspire among their peers.
