The Stanford PACS Guide to Effective Philanthropy

Guide Chapters

Individual sections are available for download below, broken out by chapter. Clicking the chapter heading downloads the full chapter, while the links under them represent a specific activity or subsection within. 

Introduction

If you are reading this Guide, perhaps you have experienced a “wealth event”—a sudden increase in your net worth from an IPO, inheritance, or the like—or perhaps you have been accumulating wealth during your working years. You may have been volunteering your time, including serving on a nonprofit board, and you have likely been responding to requests to give to your alma mater, your children’s schools, religious institutions, and organizations that you or your friends care about. Perhaps, on your own or with the help of your financial advisor, you have started exploring a few “giving vehicles,” such as donor advised funds or foundations.

You may be at an inflection point—a moment of reflection when you realize you would like to be more purposeful in your charitable giving. With more money and possibly time, you’re feeling the mounting pressure of requests. At the same time, you would like to improve your philanthropic impact: you really want to do it well. Though not professionally trained in philanthropy, you aspire to have a professional level of impact in the areas you care about.

This Guide is written for donors who are interested in significant and sustained giving.It was born out of our experience at the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society in helping donors improve their philanthropic effectiveness. Although much of the Guide is relevant to philanthropy across the globe, it is focused on donors making gifts to US-registered charities.

Download the Introduction