The Center for High Impact Philanthropy’s annual high impact giving toolkit provides individual donors and professional grantmakers with actionable guidance for high impact giving year-round.

We include a practical guide on what high impact philanthropy really means and four high-level strategies to help you practice it, no matter what cause or geographic community you care about. To demonstrate high impact philanthropy in practice, we spotlight evergreen areas that are foundational to people’s survival: education, health, housing, and conservation and livelihoods. In each area, you’ll find four nonprofit examples showing best practices in action.

This year we provide a first look at our Community Resilience Framework, a new, timely framework to help funders strength communities so they can withstand economic shocks and both natural and human-made crises.

What Is High Impact Philanthropy?

High impact philanthropy is the practice of intentionally using private resources to serve the public good. In other words, it’s philanthropy for social impact.

Not all gifts and grants are intended to maximize social impact, as shown in this high impact giving toolkit. For example, you may round up your bill at checkout to donate to a store’s charity, sponsor a friend participating in a race that benefits her favorite cause, or give to your church or temple as part of your obligation as a member. These acts are part of many donors’ “philanthropic portfolio,” which can include multiple issues and giving strategies (see Four Philanthropic Plays).

Whether you have $10 or $1 million, high impact philanthropy is the part of your portfolio where you ask, “How can I do more good in the world?” Here is how.

In This Toolkit

These are uncertain times, as many face economic struggles, health crises, natural disasters, and a growing mistrust of public institutions. It can be easy to feel overwhelmed, even paralyzed. This guide is about the opposite: deciding how you can help. Whether you have $10 or $1 million to give, we hope this guide and the resources in the digital high impact philanthropy toolkit help you turn your concern for others into real-world impact.

Read the full article about the 2026 High Impact Giving Toolkit at The Center for High Impact Philanthropy.