The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

Learning to Make Giving Go Farther

Philanthropy is an old practice but a young field. People have engaged in it in some form for centuries, but it’s only in the last twenty-odd years that organizations have emerged with the mission of improving it.

Today, one of the leaders in that effort is the Stanford Social Innovation Review, which operates with major support from the Hewlett Foundation. The quarterly publication and Web site, products of the Stanford Graduate School of Business’s Center for Social Innovation, are clearinghouses for discussion and debate about the issues facing philanthropy and the nonprofit sector in the new century.

Striking a balance between theory and practice, the Review shares the new research about philanthropic practices, but also offers features like “Ask an Expert,” which provides experts to answer practical questions from people working in the field. Blogs and podcasts encourage exchanges of ideas. Participants come from academia, business, and the nonprofit world.

For more information, please visit:
http://www.ssireview.org/.

Bringing Business Savvy to Philanthropy

The organization Social Venture Partners had a new vision for philanthropy: translate the working methods of venture capitalists to the task of making the world a better place.

Partners agree to commit at least $5,000 each and several years of their time to invest in promising nonprofit groups in their community. They share expertise in marketing, finance, technology, strategic planning, and human resources management to the task of making the nonprofit stronger.

Since its start in Seattle in 2001, Social Venture Partners has spread to twenty-four cities in the United States, Canada, and Japan and, with the support of the Hewlett Foundation, created an international organization to coordinate activities.

Since its inception, the organization reports that its members have: increased their own charitable giving by 25 percent; done more research about giving with an emphasis on long-term results; and increased their level of civic engagement in their communities.

For more information, please visit:
http://www.svpi.org/.