posted on: Thursday, August 27, 2009

Proposing a Philanthropy Policy Project, Lucy Bernholz asks what better philanthropy would look like and what policies would guide it. The new placeholder blog for the project carries the tagline: can we change the rules to change the world?

A careful re-examination of the policies governing philanthropy could provide great insight into our sector and we could make great strides in encouraging effective philanthropy. In the past, NCRP has weighed in on the regulatory environment that would help improve the foundation world. NCRP applauded potential reform of the excise tax and directing that money to IRS oversight, which would remove the disincentive to higher payouts and improve enforcement.

More broadly, NCRP recently outlined what it thought exemplary philanthropy looked like in Criteria for Philanthropy at Its Best (and it goes beyond a simple call for diversity):

• More grant dollars benefitting “marginalized communities,” including low-income persons, racial and ethnic minorities, women and girls, people with HIV/AIDS, people with disabilities, senior citizens, immigrants and refugees, victims of crime and abuse, offenders and ex-offenders, single parents, and LGBTQ citizens


• More grant dollars for advocacy, organizing, and civic engagement


• More general operating support


• More multi-year support


• Grant requirements commensurate with the size of the grant


• Larger foundation boards that include diverse perspectives


• Ethical, transparent boards


• Payouts that go beyond the legal minimum


• Investing assets in accordance with your mission

Overall, we think, and our endorsers think, that the sector would be more effective, and the world would be better off if more grantmakers adopted policies along these lines. That’s not necessarily a matter for regulation. Many funders have seen the value in these practices without government intervention. The Philanthropy Policy Project would do well to tackle the issues of social inclusion and diversity, accountability, transparency, ethics, and more and to work toward compelling, ambitious benchmarks. The Criteria provide an excellent starting point.

But the conversation shouldn’t end there. In an upcoming post, I’ll discuss my concerns and hopes for the project.

Kevin Laskowski is Field Associate at the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy.