The 1980s were more than a time of major political change in the United States. It was in many ways a decade that highlighted the work of civil society around the world, a time when a new burst of citizen activism toppled oppressive governments, opened closed economies, restored human rights, and brought relief to many who were impoverished. This chapter is about the public use of private power, especially the efforts of Joseph, now head of the Council on Foundations, to strengthen civil society on four continents. It includes the development of CIVICUS, which within a few years came to include nongovernmental organizations in eighty countries with Joseph serving as cochair, leading delegations to the former Soviet Union as Soviet citizens influenced by glasnost and perestroika sought support to develop a civil society, and trips to Asia, Europe, Africa, and Latin America to help invigorate other civil society groups.