Thank You for Downloading
Your download is complete—head to your Downloads folder to explore the insights.
Philanthropy in a Family Office
Family offices are private organizations established to manage the financial and personal affairs of wealthy families and individuals. While a family office is by no means necessary to carry out philanthropic activities, these operations...
Read Article
An Overview of Philanthropic Vehicles
After crystallizing your philanthropic intentions and strategy, determine which vehicle is best suited to carry out your vision. (See the linked article for reflection questions to help with this process.) Your determined philanthropic...
Read Article
Ensuring Equity in Philanthropy
No matter the cause, equity should be an important component—if not a driving force—of philanthropy. There are a number of ways to integrate equity principles and practices in philanthropic efforts. First: What Is Equity? Equity can seem...
Read Article
Advocacy as a Philanthropic Practice
Political, economic, or social advocacy are vehicles for altering existing structural systems, changing behavior on a large scale, and promoting a new status quo. High-capacity philanthropists are uniquely positioned to leverage their...
Read Article
Social Impact Entertainment and Impact Campaigns
A story, well told, can change the world. Realizing the power of an effectively told story, more and more philanthropists are embracing storytelling and impact campaigns by supporting issue-oriented content, including documentaries...
Read Article
Impact Investing: High(er) Risk, High Reward
For philanthropists interested in pursuing a social change agenda in ways that could also generate a financial return, impact investing is an attractive option. Most high-capacity impact investors consider this activity to be a supplement...
Read Article
The Case for Collective Impact and Cross-Sector Partnerships
Termed by the consultancy FSG, collective impact refers to a structured partnership model that brings together stakeholders in government, business, nonprofits, and philanthropy to tackle complex social issues. By uniting key players from...
Read Article
The Power of Big Bet Philanthropy
Individuals with a clear philanthropic vision might prefer to concentrate their financial contributions, putting capital behind an organization working toward advancing a specific cause. Known as “big bet” philanthropy, this practice refers...
Read Article
Find Philanthropic Flexibility with an LLC
Limited liability corporations (LLCs) empower individuals to take a multi-faceted approach to their philanthropy. A handful of prominent philanthropists—many of them from the tech industry—have popularized the LLC model to pursue a range of...
Read Article
Guide to Donor-Advised Funds
Donor-advised funds (DAFs) are a convenient and increasingly popular vehicle for philanthropic efforts. By housing charitable assets in a DAF, philanthropists receive immediate tax deduction benefits and can choose to disburse resources to...
Read Article
Guide to Private Foundations
Historically, private foundations have served as vehicles for individuals and their families to make grants to nonprofits. However, when leveraged to their fullest potential, they can also function well beyond grant making. For example, a...
Read Article
Considering Legacy and Next Generation Philanthropy
As a philanthropist, you should consider the future. Spending down the capital you’ve designated for doing good within your lifetime is certainly an option. This is especially true if you want to disburse your assets quickly to address...
Read Article
Financial Capital’s Versatility in Philanthropy
As a philanthropist, you can set an intention for your resources and define how to deploy your assets. Be sure to consider the value of your entire financial portfolio and support social change efforts in various ways to ensure that all of...
Read Article
Considering Your Philanthropy Holistically
While financial contributions are tremendously valuable, there are numerous ways to give back. The T’s of philanthropy refer to time, talent, treasure, ties, and testimony – and the most effective philanthropists deploy each of these assets...
Read Article
The Power of Compelling Narratives in Strategic Philanthropy
For philanthropists and mission-driven organizations, communication is a powerful tool to generate impact. Distinct from storytelling, a narrative conveys a perspective and gives meaning to that world view. Articulating a philanthropic...
Read Article
Strive for Systems Change
To create positive and lasting social change, major improvements must be made at the systems level of an issue area. This entails reconfiguring policies, processes, and power structures to remedy complex issues such as poverty, social...
Read Article
How to Evaluate Returns on Philanthropic Investment
It is essential to evaluate and assess the return on your philanthropic investments to achieve maximum impact. Taking time to reflect on the successes, failures, and outcomes of previous philanthropic efforts can only improve your strategic...
Read Article
Constituency Listening: Using Feedback to Improve Philanthropy
In any philanthropic endeavor, listening to and incorporating feedback from beneficiaries is essential to generating meaningful social progress. Regardless of the issue area, elevating the voices of those who endure the entrenched problems...
Read Article
The Outsized Impact of Philanthropy on Biomedical Research
Several organizations and groups within the philanthropic sector have made invaluable contributions to advance biomedical research. Individual philanthropists, too, can jump-start new models of innovation that empower and accelerate...
Read Article
Funder Collaboratives: Amplify Impact and Learning
One way that you can maximize impact is by joining forces with fellow philanthropists who share your goals and vision. Philanthropic collaboratives empower like-minded donors to share learnings, strategize on social impact efforts, and...
Read Article
Understanding Place-Based Philanthropy
Place-based philanthropy describes an approach that targets a specific location—be it a neighborhood, municipality, or even multiple counties—upon which to focus charitable resources and make a transformative impact. It goes beyond...
Read Article
Conducting Philanthropic Due Diligence
For a strategic philanthropist, conducting due diligence is an essential practice when assessing whether to invest in potential grantees or collaborators. Before making a financial or any other kind of commitment to an organization, it is...
Read Article
Philanthropy Commons: Mutually Informed Action
By Genevieve Biggs, Special Projects Officer & Daniel Yang, MD, Program Officer, The Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation When COVID-19 struck early last year, the Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation saw gaps that were making effective and...
Read Article