Money with Meaning: A Guide to Creating Joy and Impact through Philanthropy
In 2021, at the height of a global pandemic, 98 new billionaires joined the Forbes list in America alone. Collectively, the wealthiest 100,000 Americans have now amassed over 11 trillion dollars. As wildfires, floods, and hurricanes ravage countries all across the world, and as war and political unrest displace millions of people, the world has […]
Understanding the giving habits of the ultra wealthy — and how to help them achieve more fulfillment (and impact)
A few weeks ago I shared some data about the demographics and giving habits of the ultra wealthy on my blog Joyful Impact. It started some interesting conversations that I wanted to continue as we wrap up the end of the year. Unless you’re wealthy yourself (meaning you have a net worth of $1 million or […]
To Achieve Greater Impact and Joy, Donors Need to Get Comfortable Talking About Money
One of the biggest barriers to giving, and giving effectively, is the American taboo around talking about money and wealth. This taboo might well be strongest among the middle class, where it’s common for children to go their entire lives without knowing how much money their parents make. But 67 percent of the ultra-wealthy — those with […]
The world doesn’t need more strategic philanthropists, it needs more accelerators
Here’s what that means and why it can be incredibly fulfilling for you as a donor. One big reason funders seek out our advising services at Building Impact is to get help transitioning from checkbook philanthropy—intuitively giving to whatever comes their way—into strategic philanthropy. Typically, their giving capacity has grown significantly in recent years, and they have hit […]
5 ways to embrace risk in philanthropy for more impact and greater fulfillment
Over the past few years, a variety of leaders in philanthropy have been calling for funders to embrace more risk in their giving. And while I agree that philanthropists need to embrace practices that are currently deemed to be “risky,” I’d like to challenge why we think of these ideas as risky in the first place—and what […]
Trusted advisors are key to unlocking high-impact philanthropy
One of the biggest barriers to high impact philanthropy is the fact that the people with the most financial resources are rarely the people who have the most proximity and access to the complex social challenges that matter most to our shared future. This means that donors very often need to get help when it comes to maximizing their […]
Removing the Barrier of Fear on the Path to Trust-Based Philanthropy
The last few years have seen an increasingly public critique of philanthropy, with books like Just Giving by Rob Reich, Decolonizing Wealth by Edgar Villanueva, and Winners Take All by Anand Giridharadas topping best-seller charts. At the heart of these critiques is an indictment of the whole structure of philanthropy and the power dynamics that pervade it. As Edgar Villanueva puts it: “The […]
Staying Focused While Taking the Long View
If you invest $10,000 in the stock market today, you might expect your investment to grow something like this: No Data Found In 20 years, the ROI on your $10,000 investment is significant and positive. While there are important differences between investing in financial markets and promoting social change, the path to progress is similarly non-linear. Social […]
