Community Makes All the Difference: Reflections on National Philanthropy Day

National Philanthropy Day is a time to honor the ways we give our time, talent, treasure, and ties. As we celebrate together today, we’re reminded of the power of community in advancing social impact. Since 2006, Stanford PACS has shown how philanthropy and social innovation thrive when practitioners come together to learn from one another. The Philanthropy Innovation Summit embodies this spirit by creating a forum for shared learning, honest dialogue, and collaboration. At Next Legacy, we share this commitment, as we’ve been bringing our community together for over two decades at gatherings throughout the year, most notably during our own annual Philanthropy Day. As a longtime partner of Stanford PACS, we convene philanthropists who, like the Summit community, believe that meaningful change begins with trusted relationships and collective insight. In that spirit, we’re pleased to share insights from this year’s Philanthropy Day from leading members of the Next Legacy community, many of whom are also part of the PACS community, on ways to uplift local nonprofits and strengthen communities.

Xin Liu, a community member of both the Philanthropy Innovation Summit and Next Legacy, and former Stanford PACS Advisory Board member, offers a powerful frame for fellow philanthropists as they consider how to make an impact: “What can we do to leverage the funds we have and be a catalyst for change?” 

Next Legacy’s philanthropic community had the opportunity to hear from their peers, including Doug Galen (Co-Founder and CEO, Rippleworks and Lecturer for Stanford Graduate School of Business’ StartUp Garage), Lance Fors (Social Entrepreneur), and Debbie Hall (Board Member, Village Enterprise and Edify, Stanford MBA ‘81), on how they respond to that question and how they are supporting nonprofits through change. They emphasized that there are many opportunities for philanthropy to meet this moment, and that there is no “one-size-fits-all” solution for how to do so. Three categories of approaches came to the forefront, all with the caveat that it is important to adapt your approach based on the specific needs of a grantee partner at any given time:

Deepen Your Commitment to Grantee Partners with Flexible, Timely Support: 

Stick with your grantee partners and let them know they can count on your funding, so they do not waste time and resources trying to gauge your level of support going forward. In this ever-evolving environment, many nonprofits also appreciate flexible funding streams, so it’s important to consider ways you can do that by offering general operating support instead of program-specific funding or creating a rapid response fund to meet the immediate needs of your grantee partners. 

Find Out How to Leverage Your Human, Social, and Intellectual Capital 

Find a casual way to check in with the leaders of your grantee partners that is not burdensome, so you can see how they are doing and identify areas where you can provide assistance. You may learn of ways you can support them beyond financial capital with your human, social, and intellectual capital. For example, you may learn that they would appreciate your mentorship on how to lead in times of crisis, coaching on how to rethink their economic model to be less dependent on philanthropic support, introductions to other funders, and updating their grant agreement to allow them to adapt to the current circumstances. You may be surprised by what you learn and how much more you can do beyond writing a check.

Explore New Ways to Give and Amplify Your Impact

Philanthropy can be a lonely endeavor – consider joining a giving circle or collaborative fund to connect with others who share your passion for the same issues or to learn about new issue areas. Either way, you may discover new grantee partners to support. If you’re looking for ways to further the impact of your philanthropic capital, you may look for a local Community Development Financial Institution (CDFI), where you can move the funds you have in a money market account to support your local community. 

As philanthropists consider what to do next to meet this moment, Doug Galen often asks his peers, “What’s something you can do now that would make your children proud?” Actions that have come from that prompt include reaching out to a nonprofit leader, increasing financial support, connecting nonprofits to other funders, or taking ideas like the above to their board. On this National Philanthropy Day, we hope the perspectives shared offer some inspiration for how to leverage your “time, talent, treasure, and ties” to support the nonprofits that continue to make our world better every single day. 

—

About Next Legacy: Next Legacy Partners is on a mission to amplify the impact of our diverse community of philanthropists, athletes, cultural luminaries, venture capitalists, and founders through outsized venture returns. We democratize access to venture capital for our investors by investing in highly sought-after early-stage venture capital firms and promising startups, but it doesn’t stop there. We tap the various aspects of our community to learn from and with one another, building relationships throughout our ecosystem that can unleash resources, connections, and talents designed to maximize impact for the greater good.