Giving Compass' Take:

• In this excerpt from her book "Be Fearless," National Geographic Society’s chairman and co-founder of the Case Foundation, Jean Case, explains the bold risk-taking behind great discoveries and innovations.

• How can individual donors use this advice as inspiration when giving strategically? How might we learn from failures?

• Here's why impact investors need to be fearless to create growth.

My husband, Steve, and I started the Case Foundation in 1997 with a fearless mission: to invest in people and ideas that can change the world. This means we’re always investigating and experimenting to find the best ideas out there, the best leaders, the best models for innovation. A few years ago, we engaged a team of experts to determine the “secret sauce” that propelled those rare leaders, organizations, and movements to success. They discovered five principles that are consistently present when transformational breakthroughs take place. To spark this sort of change, you must:

1. Make a Big Bet.
2. Be bold, take risks.
3. Make failure matter.
4. Reach beyond your bubble.
5. Let urgency conquer fear.

Read the full article about the five principles of fearlessness in philanthropy by Jean Case at National Geographic.