Giving money away is easy. Giving money away well is hard.
Generosity does not equal impact. Some philanthropists are better than others. The difference is strategy.
The author Mark Kramer wrote that: “Philanthropy is indeed a powerful tool for social progress, but only when donors make it so”.
Trusts and Foundations are well placed to take an impartial, long-term view of social issues. They can study causes, trial different approaches and scale successful programmes.
Historically, questions of strategy have been delegated to grant recipients. Traditional grantmaking has been about choosing recipients and deciding how much to give them.
This is changing, driven by a new generation of funders who do not think of themselves as grantmakers, but investors.
They demand a business-like, investment led approach to social change.
This all needs strategy. It means a clear vision, an understanding of the environment and stakeholders. It is based on a clear plan of action designed to maximise success.
Owning strategy means that donors take more responsibility for the results of their grants.
Firetail is well placed to help philanthropic organisations develop, implement and evaluate those strategies. From fundamental questions of mission, to programme design and systems improvement, our approach helps ambitious philanthropists maximise their impact.
