BETTER GIVING
Philanthropic Consulting
Crafting Your Impactful Legacy
Imagine the profound joy and deep pride you'll feel when your giving fully reflects who you are and what you care about. By taking time to explore your core values, reflect on the change you want to see in the world, and uncover the partners you want to trust with these ambitions, you’ll guarantee the impact you seek. Our services guide you to align your donations with your aspirations, empowering you to build relationships based on trust and respect with those closest to the challenges and best equipped to uplift their communities.
Discover Your Philanthropic Vision
Unlock the true potential of your giving by aligning it with your deepest values and aspirations.
Our consulting services guide you through a reflective process to identify:
Core Issues and Problems: Pinpoint the societal challenges you are most passionate about addressing.
Personal Connection: Explore how your personal history, family values, and lived experience inform and inspire your philanthropic journey.
Philanthropic Personality: Understand what motivates your giving, your desired level of involvement with groups you support, and your preferences regarding recognition versus anonymity.
Joy in Giving: Reflect with prompts and facilitation on your best philanthropic moments to get at what “better giving” means to you.
Strategic Giving Assessment & Planning
We provide comprehensive support to optimize your philanthropic strategy and maximize your impact:
Giving Inventory Analysis: Review your past giving to identify patterns, strengths, and opportunities for future alignment with your evolving vision.
Stakeholder Engagement: Facilitate discussions with family members, spouses, or board members to ensure a unified and effective approach to giving decisions.
Impact Measurement & Evaluation: Explore various theories of change, measures of impact, and evaluation methodologies to ensure your contributions create meaningful and sustainable results.
Community-Centric & Transparent Philanthropy
We champion a modern approach to giving that prioritizes the needs and expertise of recipient communities:
Ease of Access: Streamline the grant-making process for organizations, allowing them to focus on their vital work rather than burdensome applications and protocols.
Trust and Respect: Foster relationships built on transparency and mutual respect, recognizing the invaluable knowledge and experience of those on the front lines of social change.
Empowering Communities: Support initiatives that empower communities to define and implement their own solutions, ensuring your giving contributes to lasting positive change.
Beyond the Check: Expanding Your Philanthropic Toolkit
While financial contributions are vital, impactful philanthropy extends beyond monetary gifts. We help you explore and leverage a diverse range of resources to amplify your positive influence:
Skills-Based Volunteering: Identify opportunities to lend your professional expertise (e.g., legal, marketing, strategic planning) to non-profit organizations, providing invaluable capacity building.
Networking and Connections: Utilize your personal and professional networks to introduce organizations to potential donors, partners, or advocates, opening new doors for support.
Advocacy and Awareness: Use your voice and platform to raise awareness about critical issues and advocate for policies that support the causes you care about, driving systemic change.
Knowledge Sharing: Share insights, research, and best practices with organizations, contributing to a more informed and effective philanthropic ecosystem.
Philanthropic Research
We offer comprehensive research services to inform and refine your giving strategy:
Custom Research & Briefs: We undertake comprehensive research and content analysis of philanthropic issue areas, informing you about the work being done and the work still needed.
Nonprofit Vetting: We identify potential partners that align with your philanthropic vision.
Grantee Audits & Due Diligence: We conduct impact audits and provide thorough assessments of current and prospective grantees.
Philanthropic Roadmap Design: We can design a full-fledged philanthropic roadmap, complete with actionable milestones, to guide your long-term giving journey.
Working With Advisors
We seamlessly integrate with your existing advisory team to ensure a cohesive and effective philanthropic approach:
Collaboration with Financial & Family Office Teams: We connect with your financial advisors, family office teams, and other relevant professionals to ensure your philanthropic goals are aligned with your broader financial and legacy planning.
Optimizing Giving Vehicles: We provide advice on the effective use of various philanthropic vehicles, including Donor Advised Funds (DAFs), Charitable Remainder Trusts (CRTs), and other giving tools and strategies.
Community Foundation Guidance: We advise on how and when to utilize a Community Foundation to maximize your local impact.
Defining Philanthropic Scope: We help you understand the distinctions along the continuum between "Kitchen Table Philanthropy" (personal, family-centric giving) and "Board Room Philanthropy" (structured, institutionally-driven giving) to determine the approach best suited to your goals.