Several months ago, Exponent Philanthropy and partners Mission Investors Exchange and Arabella Advisors released Essentials of Impact Investing: A Guide for Small-Staffed Foundations. Below is an excerpt from the complimentary and actionable guide, geared to foundations with few or no staff that want to align their investments and missions. By David Wood, Initiative for Responsible Investment The early stages... Read More
Not all that much good comes with getting older, but one exception is time spent with the best teacher of all: experience. After 27 years in foundation philanthropy, I’ve been blessed with the opportunity to learn firsthand some important lessons, and today I share a key one: Publishing your guidelines, and generally being transparent about... Read More
Not long ago, I was contacted by a young professional interested in exploring a career in grantmaking. She inquired about what books, websites, and blogs I have found most helpful in my position as a program officer, and I offered to compile a short list to send her way. As a new program officer myself—just... Read More
Well, it’s that season again! People are breaking out their checkbooks and making resolutions for the new year. I know it sounds like I’m talking about the holidays, but I am actually talking about the end-of-year technology purchasing season. I have been in the technology industry for most of my career and have always been... Read More
As president of the foundation and son of the founders, I feel that our strategy leverages our assets exponentially. Here is how we do it. Established in 1984, the Zeigler Foundation is a small family foundation composed of seven board members with an endowment of just over $2.7 million. In 20 years we have distributed... Read More
In our 30-page publication Twenty Ways to Make a Difference: Stories From Small Foundations, author Andy Carroll describes 20 strategies that draw upon the unique assets small-staffed foundations hold. Here are 9 of the 20 strategies—just a sample of the many ways Exponent Philanthropy member foundations are making a difference through their philanthropy. Do any intrigue you? Fit easily into your... Read More