Established in the spring of 2006 by the dean of the School of Social Policy & Practice and a small group of anonymous Wharton alumni, the Center provides independent analysis, education and other decisionmaking tools for donors concerned with maximizing the social impact of their funds. To meet our goal of providing smart, practical guidance to donors who care about impact, we synthesize the best available information from three domains: research, informed opinion and field experience. We believe the most promising opportunities exist where the recommendations of these three domains overlap. Learn more about High Impact Philanthropy and Quick Facts About the Center.
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"University of Pennsylvania's Center for High Impact Philanthropy continues their series of excellent posts... They're setting the bar for the way university philanthropy programs can inform the public."- Sean Stannard-Stockton, Tactical Philanthropy
The New Science of Giving
It's also true that "high-impact philanthropy" requires confidence—"some would say cockiness," Rosqueta says—to tackle problems that have proven resistant to easy solutions. - Wall Street Journal
Charity can't fill holes in aid to poor
The total of U.S. philanthropy is currently $300 billion, according to Katherina Rosqueta, founding executive director of the Center for High Impact Philanthropy at Penn, a nonprofit focused on improving the impact of charity. - Philadelphia Inquirer
The New Philanthropists: More Sophisticated, More Demanding—and Younger
What individual and institutional donors "care about that is still missing from the market is information around effectiveness, because nobody wants to waste their money," says Rosqueta. "You want to feel confident that your money is going to make a difference. That is exactly the problem our center was established to address. Until people have confidence that their money is having an impact, you're not going to see the increase in philanthropy that people would hope for." - Knowledge@Wharton
What’s Going on at Penn? How the University is Embracing Social Impact Throughout the Curriculum
In the classroom
One specific program component at CHIP is a Master’s in Nonprofit Leadership (NPL). The degree program is directed by Peter Frumkin, professor of social policy, who is also CHIP’s faculty director. The NPL degree is distinctive in two ways, Frumkin said. First, it only takes a year for full-time students, two for part-time — most master’s offerings involve two- and three-year full-time equivalent (FTE) programs. Also unusual is that it’s offered through the School of Social Policy and Practice. “The vast majority of training [for nonprofit leadership] takes place in business schools, within MBA programs,” Frumkin said. “Usually those programs devote just a small portion of the curriculum to nonprofits, public affairs, and public policy.” - Generocity
