Lucy Heagler is a Senior studying Law, Societies & Justice (LSJ) and Political Science. Her research direction sparked by a course she took during her junior year with Professor Megan Francis. This course discussed the ethics of philanthropy and pushed Lucy to consider questions she had never thought to ask. It challenged her assumptions and encouraged her to examine the broader implications of charitable giving, particularly how funding can influence the goals of an organization. As she began exploring potential research topics, Lucy was drawn back to philanthropy and social justice. While reading about different philanthropic initiatives in the education and housing sector, she discovered Amazon’s $2 billion Housing Equity Fund. She was stunned she hadn’t heard of it before, considering both the scale of the donation and Amazon’s prominent role in Seattle’s civic landscape. Her curiosity led her to ask these guiding questions for her thesis study: What political and public pressures shaped Amazon’s decision to launch the Housing Equity Fund? What does this reveal about the power of corporate philanthropy to shape public outcomes and avoid regulation? And who benefits from these initiatives?
Lucy’s honors thesis, titled The Amazon Effect: Corporate Philanthropy and Seattle’s Housing Crisis, investigates Amazon’s entrance into the affordable housing conversation through its Housing Equity Fund, launched in 2021. Her work traces the events leading up to the fund’s creation, analyzing Amazon’s motivations and what the move reveals about the nature of corporate philanthropy. She wanted to understand not just what Amazon did, but why. Her thesis examines the broader implications of corporate involvement in public goods like housing and how justice can be compromised when corporations use their power and influence to shape policies. In the context of LSJ, Lucy shared that she sees her research as a critical examination of how power operates in urban policy, equity, and governance. “This project raises big questions about who gets to shape public policy in our cities. It also touches on the consequences of relying on corporate actors for public goods like housing.”
To investigate these complex issues, Lucy shared that she used a mix of qualitative interviews. “I conducted interviews with housing advocates, real estate professionals, and a professor who studies the tech sector’s influence on cities. I also analyzed news articles, public statements, and tax documents from Amazon and city officials between 2017-2022 to understand the public narrative and policy timeline.” She shared that this research did not come without hurdles, and that she found it difficult to synthesize corporate press releases and media coverage with limited, neutral information.
As her research progressed, Lucy’s thesis evolved. Initially, she planned to examine corporate philanthropy more generally, but as she uncovered more about Amazon’s specific actions in Seattle, her focus shifted. The project became more grounded in a real-world example, highlighting the tangible effects of corporate strategy on public policy. Ultimately, Lucy’s thesis argues that the Housing Equity Fund, while presented as a generous philanthropic act, also serves as a calculated response to public and political criticism. Her research suggests that corporate philanthropy can function as a form of soft power that shapes public opinion, influences policy, and manages corporate reputation to avoid the constraints of regulation or democratic accountability. Her findings raise important questions about the risks of allowing corporations to fill gaps in public policy and challenge us to rethink how justice and equity are pursued in the face of concentrated economic power.
Story by Sydney Wayland