This paper analyzes the role of awards in accelerating positive social change. Awards are an expression of the fundamental human desire to share, celebrate and recognize. But what is the real impact an award has upon the recipient and upon the organization that grants it? And is the...

This paper asks how foundation assets can be invested for greater social impact without sacrificing financial return objectives - for example, by investing in social enterprises. In organizing the socio-economic activity outside the public sector two options are generally available. At one end...

This paper analyzes philanthropic strategies to engage climate change. Since the turn of the millennium there has been growing venture capital interest in the broad area of clean technology. Much of that investment - over 50% - has been directed towards the energy sector on technology for energy...

This paper analyzes the optimal division of labor between foundations and the public sector. Philanthropists enjoy more personal degrees of freedom than leverage over social systems, because public resources vastly exceed philanthropic resources. Given this dynamic, engaging the public sector is...

This paper is written in French. Against the background of extremely high transaction costs in the nonprofit sector, this paper analyzes how philanthropic funding can be targeted in appropriate ways to social entrepreneurs, depending on their being quot;public goodquot; or private goodquot;...

This paper introduces the concept of change communities in philanthropy. As they reshape social realities, many philanthropists realize that not everything can be accomplished alone. Increasingly, philanthropists therefore start to build quot;change communitiesquot; - groups of experts and...

This article asks how philanthropists can make a difference over long periods in a changing world. From a structural point of view, philanthropic foundations can be designed to operate in the very long run, in principle in perpetuity. For example, the largest charitable grant-giver to...

To grasp the fundamental value proposition of venture philanthropy, this article looks at the example of Europe, where most venture philanthropy organizations (VPs) are currently small and experiment with many intervention models. Analogous to social entrepreneurship, venture philanthropy -...

Many philanthropists seek to exercise leadership on issues they are passionate about. But their resources are limited when compared to the public sector and the magnitude of social needs. To create impact, philanthropists must respond effectively to the complexity of the problems they seek to...

This paper argues that there is an inefficient capital market for social finance, at the levels of the state, the nonprofit sector and the private sector. Traditional banks are not involved, and the potential efficiencies that the private sector could offer are not currently brought into play in...