On Taking Tainted Money

So what do you do when you're a philanthropic institution and someone whose morals (or how they got the money in the first place, and how else they spend their money) you object to writes you a Very Large Check?

I can see and appreciate the arguments about this all around. On the one hand, money is a morally neutral tool — the morality is in how it's used, not in where it came from. And in a world already full of divisions, do you want to create further ones? And if the Koch Bros. want to donate money, would you rather your cause get it, or some other that you might agree with less? Further, if you're going to turn down money from the Koch Bros., how much other vetting are you going to do for other donors; will you put together an affidavit to make sure only the ideologically "correct" folks donate?

Oh the other hand, the most invidious aspect of all of this is the reality (or even perceptions) of strings being attached to a donation — hard strings (I will give you X if you do Y, or now that I've given you X, I expect you to do Y in return) or soft strings (being unwilling to offend or criticize by person or policy the Koch Bros., or even other potential donors, for fear of losing future donations). Even where such strings don't exist, "Caesar's wife must be beyond reproach."

So I don't know what the right answer. But if the Koch Bros. want to donate $1 million to me, I promise to think about really hard.

(h/t +Paula Jones)

Reshared post from +The Atlantic

Koch's donation has created a major outcry from the greater Catholic community, but the donation still stands. I…