What We Do

We envision a world in which philanthropic funds flow to where they can make the greatest difference in improving the lives of others. We are best-known for our independent analysis, decision-making tools, and education that enable individual donors and their advisors to optimize the social impact of their philanthropic activities.

To help donors understand where high impact opportunities exist, our multidisciplinary team examines numerous sources of information including available academic research, policy briefs, financial and performance data from nonprofits, and relevant statistics. We conduct site visits, interview practitioners and vet material with representative philanthropists, advisors, and other stakeholders. Our hope is that by doing much of this legwork, we enable donors to move from concern and good intentions to impact.

In addition, we work to push the broader field of philanthropy through our writing, speaking, student advising and participation on advisory panels and working groups for some of the leading efforts to understand and improve the impact of philanthropic activities. To find out more detail about what we do, please see Our Approach.