Giving Compass' Take:

• In a post published on the National Center for Family Philanthropy, EJF Philanthropies' Simone Friedman writes about the creation of a foundation-focused "expert marketplace," in which nonprofit pros would give wealthy donors advice on impact giving.

• There are some obstacles to such a concept (including privacy concerns), but it's worth investigating how to connect high-net worth individuals with the people who know the best way to optimize philanthropic dollars.

Here's how the philanthropy sector can drive more growth through learning.


Individual philanthropists, although well-intentioned, frequently do not invest that much time or thought into giving away money. As the late Paul Connolly wrote in "Wanted: Better Advice for Wealthy Donors," a column in The Chronicle’s January issue, "[Charity] foundations often devote more effort to giving away $10,000 than an individual does to giving $10 million."

Mr. Connolly suggested that the solution is better coordination between wealthy individuals’ philanthropic advisers and their wealth managers and greater integration of philanthropy into wealth-management platforms — the suite of services that financial-advisory firms offer ultra-high-net-worth investors. While I agree that these solutions would help, I recommend a more radical idea: create an "expert marketplace" for philanthropy in which foundation professionals can sell their advice on an hourly basis to wealthy individuals seeking to optimize their giving.

Confidentiality and privacy concerns: Foundation boards would need to give permission for their professionals to offer advice on the marketplace. This could be problematic for grantmakers that require strict confidentiality or family foundations that put a premium on privacy.

Freeloading: Some foundations might view donors obtaining advice on the marketplace as a form of freeloading. These philanthropists would be getting advice similar to what foundations receive from their staff, at a dramatically lower cost.

However, these obstacles can be overcome if charity foundations are able to transcend their individual interests and think about the greater good. An expert marketplace could be one of the ways to improve the practice of philanthropy so that more money is funneled to where it will do the most good...

Read the full article about building an expert marketplace for philanthropy by Simone Friedman at National Center for Family Philanthropy.