Regional Grant Makers Hold the Key to Containing Health-Care Costs
Small amounts of money and strong coalitions of businesses, government, and nonprofits can promote big reductions in wasteful spending.
By Mark R. Kramer
Contributor
A ‘Platinum Age’ for Philanthropy Requires Donors to Change Their Ways
Philanthropists don’t necessarily need to spend more, but they need to focus more efforts on advocacy and other ways to change how society works, say the authors of Do More Than Give.
Charity Loans: a Creative, Underused Form of Support
The current economic crisis has left no one unscathed — and sadly, that is particularly true for those who are most in need. As foundations face significantly reduced assets available to meet those needs, nonprofit groups face even greater demand for their services. As a result, foundations across…
By Mark Kramer and Mark R. Kramer
Foundations Should Step Up as Obama Steps In
The inauguration of Barack Obama as president next week offers clear lessons and opportunities for philanthropy. Looking back to the campaign, what can grant makers learn about mobilizing social change? And looking ahead to the president’s first 100 days, how can foundations and nonprofit groups…
By Amber Johnson and Mark R. Kramer
This month’s publication of a series of Los Angeles Times articles detailing how the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation’s investments often contradict its social goals should not have surprised anyone in philanthropy. In fact, the vast majority of foundations in the United States are active investors…
By Mark Kramer and Mark R. Kramer
A Practical Look at Foundation Practices
A good book on philanthropy is hard to find. Those who write about foundations tend either to extol or excoriate them. Academic studies lack the pragmatism of real-world experience, and the reminiscences of those who have run a foundation are often overlaid with an unnaturally rosy hue. Happily,…
By Mark R. Kramer
Contributor
Donors Learn How to Be Effective by Seeing a Charity’s Real Challenges
What makes an effective donor? Recently, my consulting firm was asked to “reverse engineer” effective philanthropy by interviewing two dozen wealthy donors who were perceived to be highly effective by their peers. Our goal was to learn how they became that way. We discovered that effective donors…
By Mark R. Kramer
Contributor
Don’t Confuse Generosity With Impact on Society
With the stroke of a pen, Warren Buffett has committed more money to charity in a single transaction than anyone in history. In current dollars, his $31- billion gift is double the total lifetime philanthropic contributions of ALSO SEE:Opinion: Let’s Not Focus Simply on Size of Buffett’s…
By Mark R. Kramer
Contributor
Foundation Trustees Need a New Investment Approach
Foundations control more than $600-billion in assets, but they put only a tiny amount — less than 1 percent — into investments designed to help them further their missions. That is a massive lost opportunity for the nonprofit world. And it is caused, in part, by a misperception of the bounds of…
By Mark R. Kramer
Contributor