 While still on the board of the John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation, MacArthur pushed the Board to offer the MacArthur fellowships, also called "Genius Grants".Second, in 1980 at the urging of his son John R. "Rick" MacArthur, then 23, the senior MacArthur persuaded the Board to partner in creating and funding a Harper's Magazine Foundation, in order to acquire and operate "Harper's Magazine", which had been struggling financially.This new entity acquired "Harper's Magazine" (which was then losing nearly $2 million per year and was on the verge of ceasing publication) for $250,000.