Philanthropic foundations are seen as enterprises committed to building what they view as a better world. Their visions of a better world are described in terms of social values that represent preferred end states for society or means of achieving such states. This article describes a procedure in which a foundation's espoused social values, made explicit, may serve as a referent to evaluate the foundation's performance. The process by which social values are determined is offered as a means to promote critical and reflective discourse not only within the foundation but with the public, especially those affected by the foundation's work.
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