Firsts in American psychoanalysis, though perhaps more frequent these days, can nonetheless be notable. On the weekend of April 3–4, at Chicago's Four Seasons Hotel, was convened the first Workshop on Foundations, the result of two years' work by the Joint Board and Council Committee on Foundations. The committee, chaired by Harvey L. Rich of Washington, was the inspiration of BOPS chair Marvin Margolis and then-president George Allison. Early on, the committee decided that an intensive two-day conference on psychoanalytic foundations would be helpful. The goal was twofold: first, to offer expertise on psychoanalytic foundation development; second, to get an in-depth sense of the present level of development nationwide. Both goals were well accomplished.
Forty representatives from 14 of the 28 institutes, as well as representatives from some Study Groups and free-standing foundations, attended at their own expense. The weekend commenced with a Friday cocktail and dinner party cohosted by The American and Dr. and Mrs. Jorge Schneider—he is Dean of the Chicago Institute—at their North Michigan Avenue home. Enthusiasm and a devotion to foundation development were immediately evident in the group gathered there, as was the depth and breadth of their experience.
Early Saturday morning began an intensive day and a half. The program was organized to take participants from the very inception of thoughts about developing a foundation, through to the finer points of fund raising and programming. Harvey Rich started off with an overview of the foundation concept. Psychoanalytic foundations have been seen, by those who have established them, as the organizational answer to supporting educational, clinical, and research activities. Establishing an active relationship between psychoanalysis and the larger community, under the auspices of one easily accessible entity, is a major reason for developing a foundation. Fund raising and asset protection are advantages high on everyone's list, functions a foundation serves without impinging on the operations of institute training programs. Foundations provide a place where community members and mental health professionals in other fields can collaborate on an equal footing with psychoanalysts, and are particularly useful in enlisting the expertise and energy of the business community, the legal and political community, and public interest groups. “Foundations,” Rich concluded, “have become a way for psychoanalysis to remain an important part of this country's mental health program and to remain an invigorated science of the human mind.” Those present agreed that analysts can no longer remain isolated from the community or from one another.
Going around the room then, each group spoke of its current level of foundation development. This included candid talk about problems in their communities and possible solutions. What at first seemed a dauntingly wide array of foundation structures came down to a few models differing on the basis of existing local bylaws and community conditions. The first principal speaker, Michael Trister, a lawyer specializing in nonprofit corporation law, spoke about the legal parameters of nonprofit organizations regardless of particular bylaws.
Fund raising and asset protection also received attention. Candace Kaplan, head of a large financial planning firm, addressed the concept of long-term planned giving as a way for small nonprofits to develop cash reserves. She emphasized that this should be undertaken simultaneously with short-term fund raising for operating expenses. She also provided an outline of asset creation vehicles. In the discussion that followed, the ethics of soliciting contributions from former patients was thoroughly discussed. It was agreed that it is never correct for an analyst to solicit funds from a current or former patient. It was noted, however, that if the public activities of a foundation attract the voluntary contributions of appreciative patients, it is quite proper for board members to accept. Nonanalyst board members are particularly well suited to act in such matters.
Other panels addressed board development, gala benefits, and programming. The presence on boards of leaders from the local business community was a major focus of conversation. Aside from bringing with them an expertise in areas in which analysts tend to be inexperienced, such members can help boards avoid the “burnout” so common among analysts who carry a full clinical load while trying to do foundation work. In this part of the discussion, the candor of the participants was most refreshing. The fears of some analysts about letting community members assume powerful board positions were dispelled. Sitting and talking with lay people and hearing their points of view regarding their roles in analytic organizations did much to calm and inspire the group.
Looking forward, workshop participants felt that future meetings, on an annual basis, would be beneficial. A newsletter was planned to collect and distribute ideas around the country, and a questionnaire will be sent to all affiliate societies so that data can be collated that might assist local groups in dealing with specific problems.
The subject of an American Psychoanalytic Foundation was also brought up. It was felt that such a development should come naturally out of the maturation of the group assembled in Chicago; the time for such a foundation will be apparent once local foundations have spread throughout the country. A national foundation could increase exponentially the impact of psychoanalysis around the nation, and the emergence of such a foundation out of the work of the current group would ensure a synergistic rather than competitive relationship with the local foundations.
At the committee's meeting on May 22, Dr. Nadine Levinson of San Diego and Mr. Harold Kulish, president of the Michigan Psychoanalytic Foundation, were appointed co-chairs to assist Dr. Rich. The plans for a newsletter were refined. Further discussion about the next annual meeting led to consensus on a small-group format dealing with a wide variety of local needs. Topics for discussion will include causes of failures in foundations; possible solutions; confidentiality and the solicitation of funds from patients and former patients; programming by foundations; development of mission statements; and relations between national and local foundations. A broad, helpful attitude remained toward helping societies, institutes, and study groups overcome the many logistical problems encountered in setting up and maintaining a foundation.