Arabella Advisors, a leading philanthropy services firm, helps philanthropists and investors achieve greater good with their resources. The firm provides customized services built from a comprehensive platform spanning strategy, due diligence, evaluation, grant making, impact investing, project incubation, donor collaboration, foundation management and more. Arabella Advisors works exclusively with funders, providing objective advice to help them increase the impact of their assets.

Contributions

Unlocking the Power of DAFs

Posted on July 13, 2023 by Betsy Erickson, Arabella Advisors

This paper explores tactics DAF-holders can use to combat stagnation and overcome the barriers—both psychological and structural—that are holding them back, enabling them to put their charitable dollars to work and fulfill the expectations of their roles as funders… Read More

Before Sunset

Posted on July 13, 2022 by Arabella Advisors

With support from and in partnership with the Kataly Foundation, Arabella Advisors conducted one-on-one interviews with many current and former spend-down leaders and gained valuable insights about the practices their foundations employed… Read More
Voices from the Field

Building an Economy for All: How Philanthropic Families Can Help

Posted on March 27, 2019 by Cyrus Kharas, Kate McAdams, Arabella Advisors

4 lightbulbs are standing against a blue background; one is lit up with a dollar sign in the middle
Providing equitable access to the capital entrepreneurs need to build their businesses is essential to creating a just society and to realizing our full economic potential. Unfortunately, a growing body of research shows that deeply embedded biases currently restrict access to capital for businesses led by women and people of color. Kate McAdams and Cyrus Kharas offer concrete steps for philanthropic families to correct this market failure through what the Arabella Advisors team describes as “inclusive investing.”… Read More

Essentials of Impact Investing: a Guide for Small-Staffed Foundations

Posted on November 20, 2015 by Arabella Advisors

Impact investing has the potential to enable every foundation, regardless of size, to pursue its philanthropic mission more effectively. It can help individual donors, families, foundations with few or no staff, and all sorts of giving entities put more and different types of capital to work for social good. Even better, it can deliver philanthropic impact alongside financial returns—which can enable reinvestment of those funds in… Read More

The Rockefeller Foundation’s Program-Related Investments Portfolio

Posted on July 8, 2013 by Arabella Advisors

From the Executive Summary: The Rockefeller Foundation’s Program-Related Investments (PRIs) have generated modest financial returns for the Foundation, contributed to investees’ financial sus- tainability and generated positive social returns on a variety of fronts. Individual invest- ments have helped organizations promote asset ownership, extend access to products and services on more equitable terms and in new ways to previously excluded… Read More