Skip to Content
Center for
Change lives. Change organizations. Change the world.
Follow us :
![[icon - facebook]](/sites/csi.gsb.stanford.edu/files/icon_img_f.gif "[icon - facebook]"){kind=icon}
![[icon - twitter]](/sites/csi.gsb.stanford.edu/files/icon_img_t.gif "[icon - twitter]"){kind=icon}
![[icon - LinkedIn]](/sites/csi.gsb.stanford.edu/files/LinkedIn.jpg "[icon - LinkedIn]"){kind=small}
Philanthropy, Responsible Investing
Gratitude: The Gift that Keeps on Giving
Expressions of gratitude motivate others’ prosocial behavior. When people are thanked for their efforts, they experience stronger feelings of social worth, which inspires them to engage in further helpful acts. In short, gratitude proves to be the gift that keeps on giving because it makes others feel valued.
![[photo - Trae Vassallo, general partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and cofounder]](http://csi.gsb.stanford.edu/sites/csi.gsb.stanford.edu/files/imagecache/img75x75/trae_vassallo.png "[photo - Trae Vassallo, general partner at Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and cofounder of Good Technologies: \"Great ideas are not solitary things. Feedback from other people is the best catalyst.\"]")
For this venture capitalist, it all comes down to connecting with people – from family to coworkers to customers.
![[photo - Photo: Doug McAdam]](http://csi.gsb.stanford.edu/sites/csi.gsb.stanford.edu/files/imagecache/img75x75/podcast_img/doug%20mcadam%205061.jpg "[photo - Photo: Doug McAdam]")
How are engaged citizens made? In this audio lecture, sponsored by the Stanford Social Innovation Review, Stanford sociology professor Doug McAdam argues that youth volunteering does not directly result in active citizens or a robust civil society. Instead, the responses to youth activism are varied and driven by historical and cultural context.
Research Resources
If you want to give money to a good cause, how do you decide which organization to focus on amidst myriad choices? A new enterprise driven by Stanford MBAs, known as Philanthropedia, is making it easier for you to figure it out.
Resource: News Article
Stanford Social Innovation Review: Spring 2011
Private foundations are being idealized as neutral, efficient, and effective—but no one is actually monitoring their impact.
Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article
Stanford Social Innovation Review: Spring 2011
According to recent research, people tend to perceive organizations as being either warm or competent, not both—and they are much more likely to do business with the competent one.
Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article
Stanford Social Innovation Review: Spring 2011
"The more money a person makes or has, the less generous, helpful, compassionate, and charitable he is toward other people,” says Paul Piff, a doctoral candidate in social and personality psychology at the University of California, Berkeley.
Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article
Stanford Social Innovation Review: Spring 2011
GIVE SMART: Philanthropy That Gets Results by Tom Tierney & Joel L. Fleishman
Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article
![[photo - Luther Ragin]](http://csi.gsb.stanford.edu/sites/csi.gsb.stanford.edu/files/imagecache/img75x75/is_investing_0.jpg "[photo - Luther Ragin]")
Luther Ragin of the Heron Foundation argues that the prevailing model of philanthropic organizations giving away just 5 percent of their funds each year may be shortchanging charitable causes.
Resource: News Article
![[photo - Bill Gates]](http://csi.gsb.stanford.edu/sites/csi.gsb.stanford.edu/files/imagecache/img75x75/Bill_Gates_0.jpg "[photo - Bill Gates]")
As baby boomers get closer to inheriting vast sums of money and philanthropic organizations face more scrutiny, foundations must strike a delicate balance in fulfilling their missions.
Resource: News Article
![[photo - Peter Hero]](http://csi.gsb.stanford.edu/sites/csi.gsb.stanford.edu/files/imagecache/img75x75/Peter_Hero_1.jpg "[photo - Peter Hero]")
Traditionally, community foundations, unlike most private or corporate ones, are tied to a specific region or city and act as a "savings account" to meet the current and future needs of that area. But gradually, says Peter Hero, president of the Community Foundation Silicon Valley (CFSV), that's changing.
Resource: News Article
![[photo - James Canales]](http://csi.gsb.stanford.edu/sites/csi.gsb.stanford.edu/files/imagecache/img75x75/James_Canales_0_0.jpg "[photo - James Canales]")
At the helm of the $1.4 billion James Irvine Foundation, Jim Canales spends much of his time focusing on one thing--alignment. A foundation must understand the environment in which it is doing work and build a good team internally to achieve success, he told a packed April 8 lunch-hour session at the Stanford Graduate School of Business.
Resource: News Article
![[photo - Susan Berresford]](http://csi.gsb.stanford.edu/sites/csi.gsb.stanford.edu/files/imagecache/img75x75/Susan_Berresford_0.jpg "[photo - Susan Berresford]")
Susan Berresford, the president of the Ford Foundation, urged foundations to make their industry accountable, warning that if the nonprofit community itself doesn't address the question of legal and professional standards, others will.
Resource: News Article
Stanford Social Innovation Review: Spring 2010
With the economy in turmoil, funders are increasingly pressuring nonprofits to merge. Yet mergers are not always the right path for nonprofits in financial distress. For a healthier nonprofit sector, funders should consider a wider variety of partnership options.
Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article
Stanford Social Innovation Review: Spring 2010
Improving the lives of disadvantaged populations—whether through better schools, after-school programs, or teen pregnancy prevention clinics—requires proven theories of change. The very development of a field depends on their diffusion, replication, critique, and modification. Yet some organizations refuse to articulate a theory of change and some funders think it would be intrusive to demand that they do so. The interests of all concerned are served by a developmental approach to creating and evaluating theories of change
Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article
Stanford Social Innovation Review: Spring 2010
How funders can help grantees track their progress more effectively
Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article
Stanford Social Innovation Review: Spring 2010
The secret ingredient of radical innovation
Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article
Stanford Social Innovation Review: Spring 2010
In the time it takes to update your Facebook page, you could be making the world a slightly better place
Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article
Those advocating cuts in social services because there are already too many government-funded nonprofits are misguided.
Resource: Blog Post
The movement to provide capital to social enterprises is gaining momentum.
Resource: Blog Post
Effective philanthropy requires risk taking.
Resource: Blog Post
Foundations need to work harder to improve the operations and impact of the giving sector.
Resource: Blog Post
The Lodestar Foundation supports nonprofit collaborations, mergers, and other cooperative activities as a major strategy.
Resource: Blog Post
A pluralistic society boasts many independent centers of power and foundations have an instrumental role in supporting such diversity. Online giving marketplaces are further democratizing philanthropy by empowering donors to support the causes they care about. In this panel discussion, sponsored by the Stanford Center for Social Innovation, experts in the field consider whether such online spaces are simply useful adjuncts to the work of philanthropy--or whether they promise to revolutionize the sector altogether.
Resource: Audio
![[photo - Photo: Jeff Mason]](http://csi.gsb.stanford.edu/sites/csi.gsb.stanford.edu/files/imagecache/img75x75/podcast_img/jeffmason.jpg "[photo - Photo: Jeff Mason]")
How do we know that the nonprofit organizations we support are actually effective? In this audio interview, host Sheela Sethuraman converses with Jeff Mason about his efforts, along with key organizational leaders, to develop an assessment tool that evaluates nonprofit management performances. Their work could become a major contribution to the world of philanthropy.
Resource: Audio
Online giving marketplaces allow for the transfer of funds from interested donors and lenders to those who need them. In this new philanthropy space, it is as yet, unclear whether the donor is the "supply" or the "demand," and organizations are just beginning to experiment with the utility of such online functioning. In this panel discussion, sponsored by the Stanford Center for Social Innovation, philanthropy experts working at online marketplaces discuss how their organizations function and what differentiates them from others.
Resource: Audio
![[photo - William F. Meehan III]](http://csi.gsb.stanford.edu/sites/csi.gsb.stanford.edu/files/imagecache/img75x75/podcast_img/William%20Meehan.jpg "[photo - William F. Meehan III]")
When it comes to online giving market places, the adage is: If you build it, few will come. So how do you drive enough people to such online spaces to make them work? In this audio lecture, sponsored by the Stanford Center for Social Innovation, William Meehan, McKinsey senior director, talks about the opportunities and challenges in making online giving marketplaces successful, and what lies ahead in this new philanthropy field for organizations dedicated to making a genuine sustained impact in communities.
Resource: Audio
![[photo - Dr. Elizabeth Hausler]](http://csi.gsb.stanford.edu/sites/csi.gsb.stanford.edu/files/imagecache/img75x75/podcast_img/Dr.%20Elizabeth%20Hausler.jpg "[photo - Making Homes Safe From Earthquakes]")
When an earthquake hits, what should you do? Should you get out of the house? The answer, says Elizabeth Hausler, founder of Build Change, depends upon where you live. In this audio interview with host Sheela Sethuraman, Hausler describes how the strategies of Build Change are helping villages in Indonesia and China to build earthquake-resistant housing.
Resource: Audio
![[Video-Using Entrepreneurial Approaches to Solve the Problems of Global Poverty]](http://img.youtube.com/vi/DJKD7jYyOmk/0.jpg "[Video-Using Entrepreneurial Approaches to Solve the Problems of Global Poverty]")
In turbulent times like ours, we need “hard-edged hope,” says Jacqueline Novogratz, the much-celebrated founder of the Acumen Fund. Affirming that the world is indeed a better place now than it was 40 years ago, she traces her own journey from a childhood witnessing racial inequities all around her in Detroit to a career leading the field of social impact investing. Novogratz rallies the community of Stanford business graduates to be part of the new generation of innovative problem solvers.
Resource: Video
![[Video-Opportunities In Environmental Area]](http://img.youtube.com/vi/pxAR0qZzS3Y/0.jpg "[Video-Opportunities In Environmental Area]")
How do environmental challenges create growth opportunities, new markets, and innovation? Two Goldman Sachs managers discuss how their investment firm is making the financing of corporate deals contingent upon the incorporation of increasingly stringent environmental criteria.
Resource: Video
![[Video-Community Foundations]](http://img.youtube.com/vi/xws0z0-GlxA/0.jpg "[Video-Community Foundations]")
Community foundations have become an increasingly common outlet for charitable giving in the United States. In this panel discussion, led by Julie Juergens, the director of the Center for Social Innovation, community foundation leaders discuss innovative models for foundations as well as challenges faced by this sector.
Resource: Video
![[Video-Value Creation]](http://img.youtube.com/vi/dN0jL1ACCYg/0.jpg "[Video-Value Creation]")
The nonprofit sector delivers social value and the for-profit sector delivers economic value, right? Wrong! Jed Emerson argues that value is nondivisible, whole, and blended. He invites us to think beyond philanthropy, corporate social responsibility, social enterprise, and other limiting mindsets.
Resource: Video
![[photo - Peter deCourcy Hero]](http://csi.gsb.stanford.edu/sites/csi.gsb.stanford.edu/files/imagecache/img75x75/podcast_img/hero.jpg "[photo - Peter deCourcy Hero]")
Technologies such as mobile phones and computers are increasingly becoming tools for philanthropic giving. In this Stanford Center for Social Innovation audio lecture, former Community Foundation of Silicon Valley president Peter Hero discusses how global changes in philanthropy are providing opportunities in the online giving space. He considers how online giving can be made more robust, and how trends in this arena may allow for the strengthening of civic engagement around the world.
Resource: Audio
A pluralistic society boasts many independent centers of power and foundations have an instrumental role in supporting such diversity. Online giving marketplaces are further democratizing philanthropy by empowering donors to support the causes they care about. In this panel discussion, sponsored by the Stanford Center for Social Innovation, experts in the field consider whether such online spaces are simply useful adjuncts to the work of philanthropy--or whether they promise to revolutionize the sector altogether.
Resource: Audio
How do we know that the nonprofit organizations we support are actually effective? In this audio interview, host Sheela Sethuraman converses with Jeff Mason about his efforts, along with key organizational leaders, to develop an assessment tool that evaluates nonprofit management performances. Their work could become a major contribution to the world of philanthropy.
Resource: Audio
Online giving marketplaces allow for the transfer of funds from interested donors and lenders to those who need them. In this new philanthropy space, it is as yet, unclear whether the donor is the "supply" or the "demand," and organizations are just beginning to experiment with the utility of such online functioning. In this panel discussion, sponsored by the Stanford Center for Social Innovation, philanthropy experts working at online marketplaces discuss how their organizations function and what differentiates them from others.
Resource: Audio
When it comes to online giving market places, the adage is: If you build it, few will come. So how do you drive enough people to such online spaces to make them work? In this audio lecture, sponsored by the Stanford Center for Social Innovation, William Meehan, McKinsey senior director, talks about the opportunities and challenges in making online giving marketplaces successful, and what lies ahead in this new philanthropy field for organizations dedicated to making a genuine sustained impact in communities.
Resource: Audio
Case Studies : All | Academic Cases
No Results Found
![[photo - Laura K. Arrillaga]](http://csi.gsb.stanford.edu/sites/csi.gsb.stanford.edu/files/imagecache/img75x75/arrillaga-laura-kathryne_7.jpg "[photo - Laura K. Arrillaga]")
Philanthropy as an industry was developed in the United States. This paper traces its development from early colonial days through the formation of the first great foundations in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Resource: Academic Case
![[photo - Laura K. Arrillaga]](http://csi.gsb.stanford.edu/sites/csi.gsb.stanford.edu/files/imagecache/img75x75/arrillaga-laura-kathryne_2.jpg "[photo - Laura K. Arrillaga]")
The September 11th Fund was created to support the short- and long-term needs of the people and communities affected by the World Trade Center tragedy. Many foundation leaders evaluated the difficult lessons learned in interacting with the media, and wondered how they could better use communication strategies to demonstrate their accountability.
Resource: Academic Case
![[photo - David W. Brady]](http://csi.gsb.stanford.edu/sites/csi.gsb.stanford.edu/files/imagecache/img75x75/brady-david-w_0.jpg "[photo - David W. Brady]")
An innovative public school’s foundation considers new strategic directions in the wake of the school’s conversion to an independent charter. Will it become an advocacy organization, a think tank, an educational consultant—or choose another path?
Resource: Academic Case
Allied Equity Partners provided equity-related financing to minority-owned businesses. The principals knew they had to rethink their strategy to raise capital of $80 million for its third and largest fund.
Resource: Academic Case
![[photo - Laura K. Arrillaga]](http://csi.gsb.stanford.edu/sites/csi.gsb.stanford.edu/files/imagecache/img75x75/arrillaga-laura-kathryne_15%20%281%29.jpg "[photo - Laura K. Arrillaga]")
In 2005, Robin Hood was the largest private poverty-fighting organization in New York City, and its venture philanthropy model had inspired various foundations nationwide. The management team hoped to have an even greater impact by improving the application of best practices and metrics.
Resource: Academic Case
In December 2000, New Schools Venture Fund was debating the role it should play in helping a for-profit investee, LearnNow, attract new capital. Should New Schools, a public charity seeking to improve K-12 education, be investing in for-profit ventures?
Resource: Academic Case
In December 2000, New Schools Venture Fund was debating whether, as a public charity seeking to improve K-12 education, it should be investing in for-profit ventures. Part B of the case provides an update on how New Schools Venture Fund is approaching these questions.
Resource: Academic Case
How does one think systematically about innovations in philanthropy? Innovations explored include endeavors such as the professional foundation and federated community campaigns, as well as modern innovations such as charitable giving funds, e-philanthropy, and venture philanthropy.
Resource: Academic Case
US Forest Capital has proposed the use of tax-exempt revenue bonds to help nonprofits manage forestland more sustainably. Now the organization must convince Congress to amend tax codes accordingly.
Resource: Academic Case
In February 1999, the Amy Biehl Foundation Trust was preparing to expand its operations outside Cape Town, South Africa. However, a strike at one of their revenue-generating enterprises, and financial irregularities at one of their newest programs, threatened to thwart the Foundation's plans.
Resource: Academic Case
![[photo - Laura K. Arrillaga]](http://csi.gsb.stanford.edu/sites/csi.gsb.stanford.edu/files/imagecache/img75x75/arrillaga-laura-kathryne_14.jpg "[photo - Laura K. Arrillaga]")
The Center for Blended Value is a think tank that promotes the concept of “blended value” investments. The founder wondered how to overcome the challenges associated with encouraging more foundations to adopt a value-mixing strategy of financial asset management.
Resource: Academic Case
![[photo - George Foster]](http://csi.gsb.stanford.edu/sites/csi.gsb.stanford.edu/files/imagecache/img75x75/foster-george_2.jpg "[photo - George Foster]")
Visa’s executive vice president of international marketing, partnerships, and sponsorship played a key role in convincing Visa’s six regional boards and its international board to allow Visa to extend its Olympics and Paralympics sponsorship. His team planned to discuss the current corporate strategy and use it to refine the existing sponsorship strategy.
Resource: Academic Case
![[photo - Laura K. Arrillaga]](http://csi.gsb.stanford.edu/sites/csi.gsb.stanford.edu/files/imagecache/img75x75/arrillaga-laura-kathryne_5.jpg "[photo - Laura K. Arrillaga]")
What are the motivations for corporate philanthropy, and what forms may such philanthropy take? Is philanthropy good business, and can corporate efforts result in effective philanthropy?
Resource: Academic Case
![[photo - Laura K. Arrillaga]](http://csi.gsb.stanford.edu/sites/csi.gsb.stanford.edu/files/imagecache/img75x75/arrillaga-laura-kathryne.jpg "[photo - Laura K. Arrillaga]")
Planned Parenthood is looking for funding to assess the Sand Hill Foundation’s Teen Success Program for replication. Those involved in the program hope to more constructively engage stakeholders in the evaluation process, monitor the program’s impact, and take action on evaluation results.
Resource: Academic Case
![[photo - Laura K. Arrillaga]](http://csi.gsb.stanford.edu/sites/csi.gsb.stanford.edu/files/imagecache/img75x75/arrillaga-laura-kathryne_9.jpg "[photo - Laura K. Arrillaga]")
The McKay Foundation played a key role in convening the diverse constituencies that had a stake in the living wage issue. The executive director considered what to focus on next after a city ordinance authorized worker pay increases.
Resource: Academic Case
Research Papers : All
Young companies trying to enter parts of the health care industry by focusing on helping patients stay healthy and allowing safety net providers to use their resources have a hard time attracting venture capital funds that focus more on traditional profit. A recent article by two Stanford Graduate School of Business researchers argues that it's time to change this pattern.
Resource: Research Paper
![[photo - baron]](http://csi.gsb.stanford.edu/sites/csi.gsb.stanford.edu/files/imagecache/img75x75/baron-david-p_24.jpg "[photo - baron]")
Social pressure plays a major role in determining corporate strategy and performance according to an award-winning paper coauthored by Professor David Baron. The researchers find that social pressure and social performance reinforce each other, greater social pressure is associated with lower financial performance, and financial and social performance are largely unrelated.
Resource: Research Paper
Asking would-be donors for their time, not their money, is a better way for charities to increase donations, says professor Jennifer Aaker. Asking donors first to volunteer their time can positively shift their willingness to give both time and money.
Resource: Research Paper
![[photo - James E. Emerson]](http://csi.gsb.stanford.edu/sites/csi.gsb.stanford.edu/files/imagecache/img75x75/2929_1.jpg "[photo - James E. Emerson]")
This study presents fundamental concepts of markets, capital markets, and social capital markets. It also highlights select initiatives underway in early 2007 that sought to improve the functioning of social capital markets.
Resource: Research Paper
![[photo - James E. Emerson]](http://csi.gsb.stanford.edu/sites/csi.gsb.stanford.edu/files/imagecache/img75x75/James-E.-Emerson_7.jpg "[photo - James E. Emerson]")
This essay explores how the lines are blurring between for-profit businesses and nonprofits that do social good. It outlines examples of companies that embody "blended value" and discusses barriers to sustainable capitalism, and the role of philanthropy in supporting it.
Resource: Research Paper
Innovators : All
![[photo - Roger Coates]](http://csi.gsb.stanford.edu/sites/csi.gsb.stanford.edu/files/imagecache/img75x75/social_innovator_picture/Roger%20Coates.jpg "[photo - Roger Coates]")
Roger is currently starting an investment partnership for affordable housing in Charlotte, North Carolina.
Resource: Alumni
![[photo - Jacqueline Novogratz]](http://csi.gsb.stanford.edu/sites/csi.gsb.stanford.edu/files/imagecache/img75x75/social_innovator_picture/novogratz.jpg "[photo - Jacqueline Novogratz]")
In turbulent times like ours, we need “hard-edged hope,” says Jacqueline Novogratz, the much-celebrated founder of the Acumen Fund. Affirming that the world is indeed a better place now than it was 40 years ago, she traces her own journey from a childhood witnessing racial inequities all around her in Detroit to a career leading the field of social impact investing.
Resource: Alumni
![[photo - Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen]](http://csi.gsb.stanford.edu/sites/csi.gsb.stanford.edu/files/imagecache/img75x75/social_innovator_picture/LauraArrillagaAndreessen_0.jpg "[photo - Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen]")
Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen explains how to make your giving matter more.
Resource: Alumni
![[photo - Brian Cox]](http://csi.gsb.stanford.edu/sites/csi.gsb.stanford.edu/files/imagecache/img75x75/social_innovator_picture/Brian%20Cox_0.jpg "[photo - Brian Cox]")
The poorest regions of the world pose high risks for microfinance. Brian Cox, President of MFX Solutions, discusses how currency risk education can increase the flow of resources to Africa and other high-risk regions.
Resource: Alumni
![[photo - Daryn Dodson]](http://csi.gsb.stanford.edu/sites/csi.gsb.stanford.edu/files/imagecache/img75x75/social_innovator_picture/Daryn%20Dodson_0.jpg "[photo - Daryn Dodson]")
Daryn Dodson is passionate about identifying and developing leaders with a social conscience. He has turned that passion into action by promoting entrepreneurship in post-Katrina New Orleans and in his current impact investment consulting role.
Resource: Alumni
Stanford Social Innovation Review: Fall 2011
The time is now for foundations, large and small, to engage in public policy.
Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article
Stanford Social Innovation Review: Fall 2011
Chris West takes a businesslike approach to philanthropy, looking for ways to leverage the assets of the Shell Foundation and its corporate parent to improve the lives of low-income people in the developing world.
Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article
Stanford Social Innovation Review: Summer 2011
GIVING WELL: The Ethics of Philanthropy by Patricia Illingworth, Thomas Pogge, & Leif Wenar
Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article
What can the for-profit market bring to K-12 education reform, and how can philanthropy help such efforts? In this audio interview with host Ashkon Jafari, Gisèle Huff, executive director of the Jaquelin Hume Foundation, discusses the foundation's investment strategy in this regard. She touches on lessons the organization has learned, and what the average citizen can do to raise American education standards.
Resource: Audio
Stanford Social Innovation Review: Summer 2011
“One death is a tragedy; 1 million is a statistic,” Joseph Stalin is supposed to have said. The more people we see suffering, the less we care.
Resource: Stanford Social Innovation Review Article
