Podcast

New Infrastructure for Humanitarian Giving

Two humanitarian leaders working on the front lines of disaster and conflict recently cofounded The Aid Cloud, an innovative platform that connects private funding with local humanitarian organizations in a post-USAID world. N Hlaing and Jose Ravano speak with host Barbara Wheeler-Bride about the funding gaps in humanitarian and development work right now, why it’s often difficult for aid to arrive quickly in a crisis, and why it’s crucial to fund local organizations directly when communities are vulnerable. Giving With Impact is developed with the support of DAFgiving360^®

Podcast

What Makes a Good Impact Investment?

Impact investing has grown exponentially over the past 20 years. How is the field evolving? What are the new approaches and strategies that are making impact investing more accessible and appealing to funders of all sizes? How can the curious get started? Megan Kashner from Northwestern University’s Kellogg School of Management joins the show to address critiques levied at the field and how to tell if an investment is having an impact. Giving With Impact is developed with the support of DAFgiving360^®

Beyond Unicorns

By Jacqueline Novogratz 2

How impact investing should redefine success

Capacity Building Needs an Evidence Standard

By Lucy Brainard 3

Funders should measure capacity building by what changes, not just what grantees like.

Right Ingredients, Wrong Recipe: What It Takes to Really Get Children Learning

By Kirsty Newman & George Kronnisanyon Werner 2

Shifting away from rote learning requires more than the right inputs. Meaningful learning can only take place when school systems put the right political, cultural, and behavioral conditions in place.

When Evidence Isn’t Enough

By Caroline Whistler

If policy and spending decisions have become much more rigorous, why have outcomes still failed to improve?

Closing the Data-Utilization Gap

By Gaurav Mittal

How nonprofits can build the data infrastructure to analyze what they already know

What Makes Philanthropic Impact Endure?

By Talia Milgrom-Elcott & Justin D’Angona

Many modern philanthropists are building impact that lasts, though it may not look like the brick-and-mortar projects of previous eras. These five dimensions are a helpful guide.

Building an On-Ramp for Evidence

By Justin Milner, Jonny Dorsey & Jon Baron

Scaling effective solutions often stalls in state government because funding systems are not designed to reward proof of impact. A new partnership model shows how states and funders can unlock smarter public spending together.

Philanthropy’s Most Important Metric Is the One It Never Measures

By Sonia Ben Jaafar 2

We judge philanthropic capital's impact by what it builds while it is building. We should judge by what stands, without it, after the grant has ended.