Our CEO
William S. White, in his role as president and CEO of the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, is a frequent speaker on a wide range of issues related to the field of philanthropy and the management of private foundations.
In addition, each year he authors an annual message that appears in the Foundation's annual report; topics have ranged from the need for openness and accountability and appropriate governance to the importance of maintaining a long-term focus on one's grantmaking.
Following is a list of selected speeches and writings along with a link to each publication in our database:
Annual Message Reprints
Speeches and Lectures
- European Foundation Centre 20th Anniversary Celebration - As part of the European Foundation Centre’s 20th anniversary celebration, which included White being awarded the EFC’s first-ever Philanthropy Compass Prize, he gave a short address. His speech reflected on the walls -– real and imagined -– that can separate people, and the important role philanthropy can play in bridging those divides and creating a more civil society. [November 10, 2009]
- Read full speech
- View EFC's tribute to White and his contributions to the field
- View video of Compass Prize presentation
- Vision, Values, Voices: Launching the Ray Murphy Lecture Series, is a set of remarks delivered by William S. White to launch the Ray Murphy Lecture Series. Ireland’s President Mary McAleese gave the inagural lecture on January 25, 2008 at University College Cork.
- Afterschool programs: Giving hope and help to all our children, is a speech delivered by White in which he highlighted the importance of afterschool programs and their growth in the U.S. and abroad. [2005]
- Leadership: Nine Challenges for Transformation, is a speech delivered to the Board of the East West Institute in New York in April 2002. The speech focuses on the important challenges facing contemporary nonprofit leaders.
- In April 2002, White was honored with the Council on Foundations' Distinguished Grantmaker Award. In his acceptance speech, he expressed gratitude for those who have influenced and mentored him over the years.
- Independent Sector, the national association of nonprofits and foundations, invited White to give the opening keynote speech at its annual conference in Atlanta in November 2001. The Challenge of Nonprofit Leadership: Building a Transformed World focused on the challenges for nonprofit leaders in a world forever changed by the events of September 11, 2001.
- The importance of foundations staying true to their founders' legacies, but also adapting to a changing world, was the focus of Honoring the Past, Embracing the Future, a speech delivered at the Annual Conference of the Council of Michigan Foundations in November 2001 in Detroit.
- In March 2000, White delivered an address to Foundation staff and Trustees about the history of the Mott Foundation. Looking Back at Five Eras: The Mott Foundation's First 75 Years provides a historical perspective on the evolution of the Foundation since its establishment in 1926.
- In April 2002, White delivered a lecture at Georgetown University (Washington, D.C.) titled Flint's Corner Drugstore. The lecture was part of the Waldemar A. Nielson Issues in Philanthropy series. White's remarks covered some of the lessons learned throughout the evolution of the Mott Foundation.
Interview
- Foundation News & Commentary magazine interviewed White at the time he received the Council on Foundations' 2002 Distinguished Grantmaker Award.