Understanding Risk Tolerance in Grantmaking
By applying behavioral economics theory to philanthropy, we can better manage grantmaker tendencies toward loss and risk aversion, and the effects of other decision-making patterns.
Foundations - Articles
New and innovative ideas for leaders of foundations (more)
Making Evidence Practical for Development
Three ways to make research and evaluation in international development more relevant, ethical, and applied.
Big and Fast Is Not Better
Building relationships with grassroots organizations that advocate for human rights-based development takes time, but without investing in them, philanthropy is likely to stumble. The case of Haiti is instructive.
Five Lessons for New Philanthropists
Before tackling complex social problems, new philanthropists should consider what current philanthropists have learned about how to “hack.”
The New Social Innovators
How the next generation of funders and social entrepreneurs are already taking cues from tech to “hack” the world’s most pressing social problems.
Is Sean Parker the Daenerys Targaryen of Philanthropy?
Like Game of Thrones’ “Dany” Targaryen, entrepreneur Sean Parker is intent on replacing what he sees as a broken and oppressive system with something better.
Making the Money Work
How funders can best support place-based initiatives.
What Gets Measured Gets Done
A case for using targeted measures of progress in philanthropy.
Can Individual and Institutional Donors Be Friends?
These groups' perspectives are closer than most think—and it’s good news for philanthropy.
Challenging the Orthodoxies of Philanthropy
Are traditional assumptions about how we “do” philanthropy preventing us from finding new and better ways of working?