Stanford Social Innovation Review

Grantees of foundations have little control over which program officer takes their case. Yet program officers make or break grantees’ experiences with foundations. To trigger social change, foundations must give program officers better training, clearer expectations, and regular performance feedback.

Some books ought to be read as pairs. Joel L. Fleishman’s and Martin Morse Wooster’s recent offerings are such a duo, offering sometimes diametrically opposed perspectives on philanthropic successes and failures.

Human-caused climate change, sharply declining conventional energy sources, and population growth are threatening the very platform of human life. Yet only 5 percent of U.S. foundation spending goes to the environment, and a paltry 2.9 percent goes to science and technology.

A growing number of foundations are offering low-interest loans, buying into green business ventures, and investing in other asset classes to advance their missions. To bring about real change, foundations need to make strategic mission investments that complement their grantmaking and leverage market forces.

In the early, heady days of the venture philanthropy movement, its proponents touted it as revolutionary, while critics said it was just old wine in new bottles. The experiences of the Center for Venture Philanthropy show that the truth lies somewhere in between: Venture philanthropy is no miracle cure, yet it can be particularly good at building strong organizations, knitting together new networks, and shrinking the power gap between funders and grantees.

For-profit businesses can efficiently and quickly raise large amounts of money to fund growth and innovation by tapping equity capital—money that people invest in a company in return for ownership and a share of profits. The nonprofit world has no corollary, making it difficult, costly, and time-consuming to raise money. In this article the author explores ways that nonprofits and funders can create their own version of equity capital, and, just as important, develop an equity approach to doing business.

In the for-profit world, the term “investment” has clear meaning and investors have sophisticated techniques for spotting and growing the most promising companies. Yet foundations and other nonprofit donors have not developed similar clarity or approaches. As a result, the nonprofit sector’s greatest gems often languish well below their full potential. By better translating for-profit concepts, donors can learn how to scout out and grow the best nonprofits. Likewise, certain nonprofits can take a page from business’s playbook and learn how to attract cash for expansion.

Foundation payout rates and the time value of money.

Funders, government agencies, and donors
get lost on the labyrinth.

Foundation grantees want more responsiveness, not just more cash.

High-engagement philanthropy: What grantees say about power, performance, and money.

President of the Ford Foundation.

Social movement and grassroots organizations left in the cold.

Breaking down the firewall between foundation
investments and programming.

General operating grants can be
strategic – for nonprofits and foundations.

Lessons on grantmaking.

Guerrilla marketing surveys power Urban Peak.

Where the charitable response to 9/11 went wrong.

A California mayor’s challenge leads to an innovative resource-pooling strategy.

How funders flout their own rules.