Every day I am struck by how many articles I read on corporate citizens making a social impact. Starbucks is selling bracelets to raise money for local communities in this down economy. Disney provides school supplies in backpacks to children in impoverished neighborhoods in Los Angeles. Most grocery stores ask if you want to round…
Over 13,000 books are listed on Amazon associated with key words Corporate Social Responsibility. Two-hundred-and-twenty-eight of them were listed in 2012 alone! At the heart of the books I endorse are those that show you can actually make a difference and make money . . . at the same time. One book in particular called…
Academies for Social Entrepreneurship (ASE) defines a social enterprise as a venture that combines the best features of mission-oriented nonprofit organizations and sustainably-driven for-profit businesses to solve complex social problems. From the non-profit sector, these features include a clear and well-defined mission, programs that improve the quality of human life and the environment, an engaged…
Due Diligence is a critical function of grantmaking organizations, yet too often funders seek to know everything. With appropriate due diligence, a grantmaker ensures their funding choices align with their mission. Without it, grantmakers overburden charities and selection committees during the proposal process. While due diligence doesn’t prevent failure, it will improve confidence that the…
As a mother of a two-year-old living in the affluent city of Los Angeles, I often think about how to raise my son with philanthropic values instead of materialism and entitlement. As a philanthropic strategist to wealthy families, I am often asked, “How do I raise motivated, philanthropic, hard-working, kids when they have everything they could possibly want? While I’m…
Many of my clients come to me saying, “I want to start a foundation,” but really they are interested in establishing an operating nonprofit. It is quite easy to get confused by terms like foundation, charity and nonprofit when used interchangeably albeit, incorrectly, in philanthropy. In the United States, we look to the Internal Revenue…