Philanthropy Program
Philanthropy is an essential resource for the nonprofit sector. Individuals, foundations, and corporations in the United States contribute roughly $300 billion each year to more than a million non-profit organizations that address complex social and environmental problems and enrich communities.
But a donor who cares about an issue is faced with a daunting task. The information available is often inadequate, making it difficult to determine the impact of giving. And if donors do not make well-informed choices, funds will not always go to the organizations that do the greatest social good.
With these challenges in mind, the Hewlett Foundation and its Philanthropy Program are committed to making sure that more money goes to the most effective organizations and that nonprofit organizations make the maximum impact. The Philanthropy Program has identified three strategies to advance these ideals.
Goals:
- Increase and improve information available to donors about nonprofit performance
- Develop information about strategic philanthropy and share what we've learned
The Philanthropy Program also strives to make Hewlett Foundation grantees and the Foundation's own grantmaking more effective. To learn more about how the Hewlett Foundation thinks about philanthropy, see our What We're Learning pages.
Hear Paul Brest talk about the philanthropic climate on KQED, San Francisco's public radio station:
Recent Grants
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4/13/2010
Capitol Impact, LLC -
4/13/2010
Instituto de Energia e Meio Ambiente -
4/12/2010
Asian Communities for Reproductive Justice
Library
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Breakthroughs in Shared Measurement and Social Impact
A report by FSG Social Impact Advisors on how shared measurement systems are enhancing funder and nonprofit effectiveness
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Doing Good Today and Better Tomorrow
This paper is the third in a series on the Hewlett Foundation's effort to increase the impact of its grantmaking, specifically outcome-focused grantmaking (OFG).
The paper was prepared by Redstone Strategy Group.
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Calculated Impact
Corporations, governments, and even people on the street routinely weigh the benefits and costs of their decisions, so why don't philanthropists? By estimating the social return on their investments, funders can deploy their dollars more effectively. To demonstrate the power of these calculations, the authors show how three organizations - the Robin Hood Foundation, Acumen Fund, and the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation - use cost-benefit analysis to evaluate their ongoing programs, choose mission investments, and plan long-term strategies.
CREATIVE COMMONS