DonorsTrust philanthropist Scott Barton came to appreciate the ideas of liberty as a high school student when he read the works of Ayn Rand for the first time. Rand’s portrayal of the dignity of the individual and her insistence that only a free-market system truly respects that dignity opened Scott’s eyes.
Inspired by his love for Rand, Scott studied philosophy as an undergraduate at Grinnell College, reading classical-liberal giants like John Locke, David Hume, and John Stuart Mill. Getting involved with the Institute for Humane Studies exposed Scott to the ideas of Austrian School economists like F.A. Hayek and Ludwig von Mises as well as public choice theorists like James Buchanan.
“These were ideas that could change the world,” Scott reflected. “I decided to devote my life to inspire more people with the same insight I found.”
Scott went on to earn a master’s degree in economics from George Mason University while pursuing a career first at the Institute for Humane Studies. He later moved to the Pacific Legal Foundation and recently joined the Foundation for Economic Education. But a career in service of the ideas of liberty is only one part of the legacy Scott hopes to leave.
With DonorsTrust’s Novus Society, Scott joined a community of like-minded givers and began building a philanthropic legacy. His Novus Society account enables Scott to support a variety of liberty-advancing nonprofits from a single charitable hub and fits into his long-term estate plans to boot. Philanthropic advisors from the DonorsTrust team even helped Scott think more systematically about his giving.
Giving to a variety of organizations, Scott has developed a strategy for discovering which deserve his support. “I don’t have time to drill down into the specifics of all the programs and initiatives an organization runs, just the fundamental thing they are trying to do and how they know if it’s successful. If I can’t get clear answers to the value created and the measurement in a short amount of time, I’m moving on.”
Looking for high-return opportunities, Scott began supporting civil-society organizations that demonstrate the power of private enterprise and voluntary action to alleviate poverty with action. Some charities came to mind immediately, and DonorsTrust helped Scott identify even more nonprofits doing good work in this area.
“Right now, I give small amounts to a handful of organizations and learn from what I hear about those investments,” Scott explains. “It’s addictive: The more I give, the more I want to give more.”