How-Tos
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Navigate to more effective philanthropy. Our toolkit is for philanthropists who are getting serious about their philanthropy: ramping up, becoming more intentional, becoming more strategic.
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Although many worthy causes exist, you only have limited amounts of time and money to devote to them. Here's how to make hard choices about your focus.
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Your personal definition of success will provide much-needed focus to you and everyone supporting your work. Find out which three criteria will help you create a working definition of philanthropic success.
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Even the wealthiest philanthropists need help in solving society's toughest problems. Find out why you shouldn't go it alone.
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To be a successful philanthropist, you’ll need to make good decisions about how to spend your money, time and influence. Here's advice on how to do just that.
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Summary of research conducted by the Center for Effective Philanthropy
Many donors' efforts to contribute "more than money" has little beneficial impact on grantees.
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Although you may end up giving some grantees more money, you will also, inevitably, have to transition away from others by reducing or ending your support for them. Here's what to think about.
Deeper Dives
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Requesting a site visit often raises expectations on the part of the nonprofit and can be time-consuming and even disruptive, so it is wise to visit only if you are serious about funding the organization. Be aware of the unavoidable dynamics of being a potential funder – the organization will be putting its best foot forward.
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Philanthropy411
BlogTools and guides for developing a theory of change that is "plausible, doable, testable, and meaningful."
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The Philanthropic Initiative
Documents the vision and purpose of giving. Intended for those contemplating their own legacy and those interpreting the legacy of others.
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Philanthropy Central: Center for Strategic Philanthropy & Civil Society
The first word of advice to the billionaire philanthropists of tomorrow: Focus on building strong organizations rather than supporting only discrete programs or projects. This commitment requires a more comprehensive approach to thinking about capital and includes a preference for larger grants provided in larger quantities over the long term.
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Philanthropy Central: Center for Strategic Philanthropy & Civil Society
With so many grantmakers and their nonprofit partners already wrestling with many of the same issues, and modeling successful approaches to problems from poverty to environmental degradation, perhaps the best approach for the philanthropists of tomorrow is to join with others who share your priorities and your passions.
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National Center for Family Philanthropy
CEO transitions in family foundations typically have three major stages: clarifying the foundation direction, identifying a suitable successor, and realigning the foundation’s strategies and/or programs as necessary. This article shares observations from a long-time advisor and observer of family foundation boards, as well as perspectives from two family board members.
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Developing an effective relationship with your grantees is not all that different from developing any other healthy human relationship. It starts with common interest and requires a willingness to understand the other person's point of view.
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Wondering how to make your family’s legacy your own? Or are you a benefactor figuring out how to engage your children or grandchildren in your philanthropy? Philanthropic families have found many ways to make it work through generations.
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A board's performance can greatly enhance—or dramatically cripple—your ability to deliver results. Boards must be designed and led in a manner that produces the best possible results, given the available resources.
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How ineffective collaboration undermines philanthropic results for society, and what can be done about it.
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Stanford Social Innovation Review
Funders can help nonprofits by developing an equity approach to doing business. (Subscription required)
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Grantmakers for Effective Organizations and Council on Foundations
Offers an overview of how grantmakers are looking at evaluation as a means of improvement and suggests some emerging approaches.
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Edna McConnell Clark Foundation
Co-funding is supporting the growth and sustainability of three highly effective youth-serving nonprofits.
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Philanthropy Roundtable
An open discussion of failed grants may be a first step in bringing some reality and frankness to the increasingly strained and distorted communication between foundations and their grant recipients.
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National Center for Family Philanthropy
Suggests goals and resources for managing family dynamics in philanthropy.
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Many nonprofit leaders seek reliable funding but are not sure how best to pursue it. New research from Bridgespan offers a road map for nonprofits to identify and develop the right funding model, and donors can help with this process.
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GrantSpace
This audio podcast follows on the guide “Finding Your Funding Model” explains why funding models are important, describes how to develop them, and discusses when they are most appropriate.
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The New York Times
Highlights increased interest in measuring philanthropic results, and the limitations of doing so.
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Developing a philanthropic strategy is an iterative process, regardless of the economic climate. It requires the internal discipline to ask—and rigorously answer—three fundamental questions. This article looks at how five foundations wrestled with these questions, made tough decisions, and dramatically increased the effect they've had in their communities and globally.
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Edna McConnell Clark Foundation
Co-funding is supporting the growth and sustainability of three highly-effective youth nonprofits.
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Greater Kansas City Community Foundation
Helps philanthropists determine the best fit between charitable dreams and financial resources.
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The Philanthropic Initiative
Common questions encountered by families that give together.
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Andrew Carnegie
Carnegie's definitive essay on why wealthy entrepreneurs must ensure that their fortunes are put to good use.
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Imagine if, in aggregate, philanthropic grantmaking were to become 10 percent more effective? Or 30 percent? For philanthropy's ultimate beneficiaries—children and communities in need, education, the arts, the environment—such an improvement would convert emerging wealth transfer into a social watershed.
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Are you and your current grantees functioning as true partners—or train wrecks? These strategies for building successful partnerships will help you and your grantees boost each other’s ability to get results.
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Your first hire represents a new stage in your philanthropy, and sets it in a new direction. What can help you get it right?
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Edna McConnell Clark Foundation
The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation reassessed the relationship between strategy, outcomes, and evaluation and helped grantees articulate their own strategies.
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GrantCraft
Grantmakers should use theories of change to guide questioning, unearth assumptions, develop action plans, and evaluate results.
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Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Possibilities and limitations of eight approaches to integrating cost in measuring and estimating social value creation. (To download the full report click here.)
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The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University
The Center on Philanthropy at Indiana University offers a resource for data hungry donors. The Million Dollar List tracks publicly reported charitable gifts of $1 million or more, searchable by factors such as geography, dollar amount, type of charity, donor, or nonprofit organization name. You can see which causes your peers are funding, what gaps in funding exist, and which of your causes are already receiving large gifts. Beyond the data, you can also find collaboration partners—donors with causes similar to your own—so that you don’t have to fly solo.
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Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors
Philanthropy needs to engage 100 percent of its assets to create social and environmental impact in addition to financial returns. (Click the link above for a summary. To download the full report, click here.)
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Organizations that build robust infrastructure are more likely to succeed than those that do not. In fact, underfunding overhead can have disastrous effects.
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Grantmakers for Effective Organizations
How funders can help nonprofits with the financial challenges they face.
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Harvard Business Review
During the past two decades, the number of charitable foundations in the United States has doubled while the value of their assets has increased more than 1,100 percent. As new wealth continues to pour into foundations, the authors take a timely look at the field and conclude that radical change is needed. (Purchase required)
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Stanford Social Innovation Review
Improving lives requires articulating proven theories of change. Yet some organizations refuse to do so, and some funders think it too intrusive to demand it. (Subscription required)
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GrantCraft
Sharing your grantmaking decisions with grantees can get complicated. This guide offers some basic rules to help you say "yes" and "no" to grantees.
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Stanford Social Innovation Review
Describes how funders can help nonprofits “manage to outcomes” through better use of information on performance and impact. To download Leap of Reason, click here.
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Charles W. Collier
Addresses many questions of concern to families of wealth, including ways to teach values to your family through philanthropy.
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To achieve breakthrough changes, donors need a multiplier effect—an approach that delivers many dollars’ worth of impact for each dollar invested. In short, they need to develop an investment model.
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Center for Effective Philanthropy
Explores what grantees value in their relationships with program officers and identifies four keys to success. Five high-performing program officers share their stories.