How to catalyze impact for the environment using venture philanthropy—three perspectives from our new member Howell Conservation Fund I’m Brett Howell, founder of Howell Conservation Fund, and a new member of Exponent Philanthropy. My mission is to catalyze teams to achieve breakthrough solutions to the systemic sustainability issues we face on our planet. As a... Read More
As Executive Director of the Hill-Snowdon Foundation, Nat Chioke Williams is leading a family foundation to strategically move its assets to support racial justice. Nat’s passion and thoughtfulness on racial justice issues has had a deep impact on the board’s understanding of anti-Black racism, and how philanthropy can create change. He led the family board... Read More
A little over a year ago, I was participating in Exponent Philanthropy’s Weekly Funder Discussions on Zoom, talking about the role philanthropy could play during the coffee and blankets stage of the pandemic. From my peers, I learned about being flexible in grant terms, the importance of listening well, and the need for open communications... Read More
The Outsized Impact Award honors an individual at an Exponent Philanthropy member organization whose style of philanthropy is achieving outsized (or greater than expected) impact. Read about the inspiring work of our 2023 finalists » Sheena Solomon The Gifford Foundation (Syracuse, NY) As Executive Director of The Gifford Foundation, Sheena Solomon envisions solutions to systemic problems, helping the... Read More
A Wake-Up Call for the Sector Exponent Philanthropy’s 2025 Foundation Operations and Management Report (FOMR) sheds a critical light on ongoing and troubling pay disparities in the philanthropic sector. Women in leadership roles, such as CEOs, earn 27% less than their male counterparts. What?! How?! In a field where many of us are committed to... Read More
Leadership can be defined in literally hundreds of ways. This is why Exponent Philanthropy knows we can’t take an “off the shelf” definition of small foundation leadership. Instead, by taking time to explore leadership in small foundations, Exponent Philanthropy will be better able to validate, nurture, and celebrate it. And, by nurturing leadership, our hope is... Read More