From the Director: March 2011

Dear Friends and Supporters,

Everyone in philanthropy these days is concerned with “impact”. In fact, that topic has been an underpinning of nearly every meeting, symposium or event that I have attended recently from our own PACS public seminar with Bill Meehan, Stanford Business School and McKinsey Consulting during his interview of Buzz Schmidt, Founder of Guidestar---to a strategy session with Independent Sector on their Charting Impact initiative. The Charting Impact five strategic questions seem very simple but they are completely encompassing. Indeed the model just might catch on for donors, foundations and nonprofits as we look at how private resources are impacting social problems. The idea is to pilot a framework to advance critical thinking on impact, through a joint initiative of Independent Sector, BBB Wise Giving Alliance, and GuideStar USA. What good is commitment or passion for the mission if there aren’t outcomes and impact from your work? These questions seem important for any effective organization or thought process: What is your organization aiming to accomplish? What are your strategies for making this happen? What are your organizations capabilities for doing this? How will your organization know if you are making progress? What have and haven’t you accomplished far? Are you using this method of inquiry for your organization? I plan to use these questions to frame our own organizational thinking at PACS.

The Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society is a research center where scholars, practitioners and innovators explore and share ideas that create social change. Global community building is achieved through our publication of the Stanford Social Innovation Review. Our work is informing philanthropic investment, nonprofit practice, policy and social innovation through dissemination of original scholarship. Through the course of our interdisciplinary research, PACS faculty train, educate and support undergraduates, PhD students and post doctoral fellows as thought leaders. Now the key is to determine the specific strategies and goals to meet our objectives and have impact through our own theory of change to create the next generation of scholars and leaders.

Speaking of impact, our PhD Fellows are generating new original research to impact social change from Turkey to Indonesia to the corners of rural California. In the fall quarter the PhD workshop participants read scholarly works and during the winter quarter they have been presenting their own research at the PACS PhD Workshop. At each class session the papers are thoroughly engaging and the research is scholarly. The students are giving meaningful presentations engaging their peers and the faculty. This is only one opportunity of many that PACS has to train and mentor the next generation of thought leaders under the thoughtful guidance of PACS Faculty Co-Directors Woody Powell and Rob Reich.

Looking ahead to a very important deadline, our PhD Fellowship applications are due on April 1, 2011 for tuition, stipend and more. PACS understands the practice of philanthropy and the concept of civil society is very broad. We welcome projects that specifically address questions of nonprofits or civil society organizations but also projects that more generally address questions about the role of the state or the marketplace in contrast to nonprofits, philanthropic foundations, or civil society. Second year PhD students and beyond, pre-or post-dissertation proposal stage, are eligible. We welcome proposals from the social sciences, the humanities, and professional schools. Find details here Attention students and faculty: our next small grant deadline is April 7th to access $500 to $2,500 grant awards. Find details here

We have a full schedule for upcoming PACS Public Seminar Series so please save-the-dates and join us: Thursday March 10th: Lee Rainie, Director-Pew Research Center's Internet & American Life Project and Lucy Bernholz, PACS Visiting Scholar & Founder of Blueprint Research for Philanthropy will speak on "Disrupting Philanthropy: Technology and Policy in the 21st Century" and then engage in a moderated discussion led by Rob Reich PACS Faculty Co-Director. Join us at 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm in Encina Hall - Bechtel Conference Center Stanford University campus. Please rsvp here.

Thursday March 31st: Susan Sturm, Columbia University, Professor of Law and Social Responsibility and Director, Center for Institutional and Social Change will speak on "Reframing the Equality Agenda: A Systems Approach." Join us at 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm in Encina Hall - Bechtel Conference Center Stanford University campus. Please rsvp here.

Wednesday April 20th: Wendy Kopp, Founder and President of Teach for America has a new book A Chance to Make History. She will be interviewed by Rob Reich, PACS Faculty Co-Director. Please mark your calendar for 5:00 pm to 6:30 pm in Encina Hall - Bechtel Conference Center Stanford University campus. Please rsvp here.

Please accept my personal thanks for your participation in this lifelong journey of learning and sharing. PACS is unique in that we can lay claim to the intellectual resources that exist at Stanford and enjoy the connections between the philanthropic, nonprofit and for profit community in Silicon Valley. This is a distinct advantage for our work and I am grateful for the knowledge creation and knowledge sharing that it brings each day.