New Bible on Strategic Giving?
Just read a transcript from a panel I recently missed at the Hudson Institute in which some really strong thinkers (Harvard's Christine Letts and the Annie E. Casey Foundation's Ralph Smith) discussed Peter Frumpkin's new book, Strategic Philanthropy: The Art and Science of Giving.
Because Philanthromedia assumes that there are more and less effective ways to give (that's why we are appealing to "discerning donors" like you) we focus alot on what we have called the "emerging discipline" of strategic philanthropy. In the process of articulating a cogent framework for the discipline, Frumpkin agrees that this area has had little emphasis:
Since Carnegie's 'Gospel of Wealth,' there has been a relative quiet period in the area of formulating new ideas about effective giving. Some centers have popped up and some models have been advanced, but I don't think we've had a commensurate amount of intellectual energy devoted to advancing the ball on the area of strategic giving and effective giving, particularly when you compare it to the amount of work and effort that is devoted to business strategy, which is enormous.
Starting with the question of value proposition, Frumpkin makes one of many intriguing points:
...the most effective, interesting philanthropy is often where there is a strange intersection between private values and
public purposes--where there is a coming together of the two sides,
where the private values of the donor and the needs of the community
are interacting in a creative, explosive way.
Lett's critique includes a statement that, while the ideas are great and she has been using them with wealthy donors for a decade, the book isn't accessible enough for practioners. She also notes: "..individuals who are giving rarely see themselves as non-strategic. In fact I've never met an individual -- particularly the very wealthy ones -- who don't think they're being strategic."
Posted at 6:33 AM, Oct 30, 2006 in Philanthropic Strategy | Permalink | Comment