Sometimes it feels like philanthropy produces more analysis than actual grants. Studies, issue briefs and reports flow from foundations, intermediaries, nonprofits, consulting firms, think tanks and even media outlets like IP! I’ve written them myself.
Yet universities’ unique role in society and slight remove from the everyday concerns and groupthink risks of the sector — though there are exceptions — can make them a distinct and therefore valuable source of information and observation on philanthropy. Not to mention that, as any reporter can tell you, tenure is often a synonym for honesty.
With these and other factors in mind, I’ve assembled this introduction to four major academic centers focused on philanthropy, with a focus on those centers and experts I’ve encountered many times in five-plus years reporting on philanthropy and more than 15 years in the sector.
Indiana University Indianapolis’ Lilly Family School of Philanthropy; Stanford University’s Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society, or Stanford PACS; University of Pennsylvania’s Center for High Impact Philanthropy, known as CHIP; and the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University are four of the country’s most substantial academic programs focused on philanthropy.
(There are, of course, many other worthy institutions, including many whose help I’ve appreciated over the years — thanks, Sillerman Center for the Advancement of Philanthropy at Brandeis University! — but in this piece, I focused on the most well known and deeply staffed institutions.)
Of course, universities are not immune from fundraising pressures — some rely heavily on a relatively narrow set of funders — and other dynamics, like the fact that their ranks tend to be drawn from some demographics over others. Such factors can drive priorities and silence frank scholarship. Yet universities remain vital players in the philanthropic research ecosystem.
Here are four programs that should be on your radar.
The Midwest O.G.: Lilly Family School of Philanthropy
Founded in 1986, Indiana University Indianapolis’ Lilly Family School of Philanthropy calls itself the “first school of philanthropy in the world” — and it is arguably both the largest and best known. The school hosts several institutes focused on topics within the sector, such as the Lake Institute on Faith & Giving, the Muslim Philanthropy Initiative and Women’s Philanthropy Institute. It also runs The Fund Raising School, which offers five different certificates, and even offers a PhilD, or doctorate in philanthropy.
All that academic activity produces a substantial volume of research on topics ranging from million-dollar gifts and high-net-worth philanthropy to human needs and disaster philanthropy. There’s also a blog, a podcast, several newsletters and regular events.
The school’s staff and publications, from what I’ve seen, tend to be less critical of the sector than others listed here. We’ll see if that evolves as public concerns mount (assuming they do) about the wealthy using philanthropy as an exercise of power and cleanser of reputations.
The Silicon Valley research machine: Stanford PACS
Located on the campus where many of today’s most wealthy and well-known donors launched their businesses — from Mark Zuckerberg to Larry Page and Sergey Brin — the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society, or Stanford PACS, has the potential to exert considerable influence over the thinking of America’s next generation of megadonors.
The center’s supporters and leadership reflect this proximity to power — its board members and donors include Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen, wife of billionaire venture capitalist Marc Andreessen. Its senior staff, numbering about a dozen, include strategic philanthropy advocate and former Hewlett Foundation President Paul Brest and “Just Giving” author Rob Reich.
One of Stanford PACS’ best-known offerings is the widely read sector research publication Stanford Social Innovation Review, or SSIR, which frequently runs discussion-provoking pieces on philanthropic practice. It also runs a half-dozen labs — e.g., Civic Live of Cities Lab, Digital Civil Society Lab — and holds frequent events. It will be interesting to see how it navigates and responds to changing tides within Silicon Valley philanthropy, with some Stanford-linked donors stepping back from past commitments as others appear to be expanding their giving.
The East Coast Ivy for everyday givers: Center for High-Impact Philanthropy
The Center for High Impact Philanthropy, known as CHIP, is based at the School of Social Policy and Practice (SP2) of the University of Pennsylvania. Founded in 2006, the Philadelphia-based institution currently has nine staff, 10 advisors and senior fellows, and a bunch of resources for everyday philanthropists.
Its mission is right there in its name. It produces a High Impact Giving Toolkit, has published a High Impact Giving Guide, runs the High Impact Philanthropy Academy for donors and professional grantmakers, and its founding executive director, Kat Rosqueta, has delivered a TEDx Talk on, you guessed it, high-impact philanthropy.
What do CHIP and Rosqueta, a former McKinsey consultant who’s sat on boards of nonprofits like Candid and the Greenlight Fund, mean by “high-impact philanthropy?”
Whether in her TEDx Talk, or in various interviews I’ve had with the center, Rosqueta and her staff emphasize that the big-name philanthropists the public typically knows about, such as Bill Gates or Andrew Carnegie, account for a relatively small segment of American philanthropy, about 20%. CHIP’s work focuses on helping more people ensure their donations, no matter how modest, are effective and “high impact” — which the center generally attempts to measure by looking at randomized controlled trials and other evidence-based analysis.
A low-profile but high-quality Michigan program: Dorothy Johnson Center
Despite what you might guess, Dorothy A. “Dottie” Johnson was not some fur-toting heiress but a humble philanthropoid. Johnson served as founding president and CEO of the Council of Michigan Foundations, one of the nation’s largest and most robust regional affinity groups. Founded in 1992, the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy received its current name in 1999 after its namesake retired.
Launched with the support of the W.K. Kellogg Foundation in collaboration with Grand Valley State University, where it is still based, the center today lists around 25 staff and hosts a wide range of offerings. It runs a grantmaking school, holds training programs and courses, and, as an applied research center, publishes analysis on topics like giving trends and donor-advised funds.
Based in Grand Rapids, Michigan, this center puts a big emphasis on professional development but also generates an interesting array of research products, including several looking at sector trends and data. It does not, at least in my experience, seem to make news headlines quite as much as the others mentioned here, but from what I can tell, that’s not for lack of quality.
Michael Kavate covers climate philanthropy and billionaire donors. He welcomes feedback, questions and suggestions — including your favorite university philanthropy programs.
