Enhancing Philanthropic Impact
On our homepage, we state, “VCCF partners with donors to maximize their philanthropic impact.” But, what does this really mean?
The fundamental answer is, it depends.
As someone who prefers more concrete specificity, it is with regret that there is not a more definitive response to offer you. The reasons for this is that philanthropy is an incredibly complex concept, one that is ever changing, and the goals of our donors are often very specific and unique.
That said, the purposes around their philanthropic endeavors can generally be distilled down to five central themes, which include:
- Creating “change.” This can be either social and/ or political change.
- To serve as venture capital to support important social innovations, such as programmatic breakthroughs or research.
- An effort to promote economic equity.
- A celebration of diversity by simultaneously supporting a multitude of options for solving societies most pressing challenges.
- To support the self-actualization of donors by helping them translate their values into action.
It is our job at VCCF to help our donors amplify their contributions to fulfill their unique goals and purposes. The process by which we do this is tailored to the individual(s) and best shared through stories and specific examples.
In later posts I will dive into each of the five themes more fully and will share examples of current donor efforts.
In the meantime, if you are interested in learning more, I highly recommend Peter Frumkin’s book, Strategic Giving: The Art and Science of Philanthropy. You can read this book anytime by visiting our Nonprofit Resource Center at our office on Tuesdays or Thursdays.
Until next time,
Vanessa