At Common Counsel Foundation, we support, advise and manage donor advised funds and family foundations. It’s clear that an individual funder (and a small-staffed one no less!) won’t solve the world’s intractable problems alone. In fact, it will take a whole network of funders at the same table if we want to make progress. As... Read More
The life of Martin Luther King, Jr. calls us to remember that truth can be found not only in grant evaluations and reports, not only in surveys and community assessments, or in the vast sets of data available to us as philanthropists. Dr. King reminds us that truth can be found in our hearts. Extraordinary... Read More
Many Americans don’t believe we matter in a system where powerful interests seem to make the rules. Almost half of eligible voters don’t even turn out for elections. Feeling powerless may be our most common self-deception, and our biggest danger. As leaders like Eric Liu remind us, we have tremendous power, if we recognize it... Read More
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