1217 Results for “” in Knowledge Center

In the introduction, we referred to philanthropy as a journey—a journey with both anticipated and unexpected experiences and great opportunities for learning. You will almost surely explore new focus areas and find new opportunities within existing ones. More fundamentally, you will develop new skills, more confidence, and greater courage as a philanthropic traveler. Expeditions that once were unthinkably remote and Read More

Understand the difference between value-aligned investing and investing for impact. This chapter considers two related but nonetheless different purposes that socially motivated investments may serve. The first is to align your investments with your social and environmental values regardless of whether your investment decisions affect the investee companies’ behaviors. The second, which builds on value alignment but goes much further, Read More

Learn about the many ways to fund with others: learning with others, funding a trusted staffed foundation, coordinating funding with other donors, pooling funds with other donors, and participatory grantmaking. The growing practices of collaborative and pooled funding allow you to increase the impact and scale of your giving. This chapter pro-vides answers to the following questions: How can I Read More

Think through the types of funding you might offer, gift size, duration, and exiting a relationship. Once you have developed confidence in an organization in your focus area, you will want to consider how best to support it. This chapter gives an overview of the basics of making gifts and answers these common questions: What are the different types of Read More

Everything you need to think about as you narrow down your list of organizations to support. Once you have compiled a list of potential organizations to fund, you’ll want to conduct a due diligence process to vet them for effectiveness. Due diligence involves assessing a nonprofit’s goals, strategies, and capabilities to determine whether the organization is worth your support. This Read More

To find effective nonprofits, conduct a landscape analysis, research grantees of credible foundations, ask knowledgeable people, or conduct online research. Even after you have decided on your philanthropic goals, you may find it difficult to choose which organizations to fund when a number of them seem to be doing similar work in your focus area. This chapter addresses the question Read More

Learn how to evaluate a nonprofit’s theory of change, or develop your own. Understanding an organization’s theory of change helps you make your own assessment of whether an organization has sound strategies for achieving your shared objectives. Whether or not an organization uses any particular term is unimportant. What matters is whether it is clear about its intended ultimate outcomes, Read More

This guide focuses on developing a deeper understanding of both general and niche philanthropy-related terms. Some of the terms, such as diversity, equity, and inclusion are more general and applicable outside of the field of philanthropy. Other terms, such as charitable industrial complex, mission creep, and return on investment are very much focused on the field of philanthropy. Although some Read More