Exponent Philanthropy members often ask about mission, vision, and values statements: What are they? Does my foundation need them? How do we create them? Maridel Moulton, an organizational development consultant, presented the following information at an Exponent Philanthropy educational program. What is a mission statement? In one or two sentences, a mission statement clarifies what... Read More
With more than 2,100 members, SVP is a global network of philanthropists with affiliates in 25 cities across North America and Japan. Since 1997, we’ve given $40 million and hundreds of thousands of volunteer hours to strengthen nonprofits that are improving the lives of children and protecting our environment. Social Venture Partners International (SVPI) helps... Read More
How can funders help their grantees to be as effective as possible? Even small amounts can go a long way toward alleviating the tremendous demands on executive directors. Exponent Philanthropy members offer these suggestions: Board recruitment, training, and development—Consider making a grant to allow the nonprofit to focus on board recruitment, training, and development. According... Read More
Together with private foundations, donor advised funds (DAFs) are among the most commonly used vehicles for charitable giving. DAFs are accounts held within and managed by another organization, namely, a public charity known as a sponsoring organization. Like private foundations, DAFs offer substantial flexibility to the donor. DAF holders may choose a one-time donation or... Read More
On an individual level, empathy is the ability to reach beyond ourselves and connect in a deeper way with other people—to understand their experiences, to get where they’re coming from, to feel what they feel. Widespread empathy scales that intuition from the individual to the organization. It connects a foundation’s staff and board to the... Read More
“Tackling the world’s most vexing social problems is a challenge for even the biggest foundations,” writes Exponent Philanthropy member Emily Tow Jackson in the Chronicle of Philanthropy (March 24, 2013). “Nonetheless, it is possible for small foundations to bring about large-scale social change.” Small-staffed philanthropists are perfectly positioned to be change makers. What does this... Read More