With so many urgent societal problems needing time, attention and resources aimed at solutions, do we really need to invest in understanding and improving the way people give money away?

The short answer is yes if we want philanthropy to reach its promise—to leverage private charitable resources for the most public good.  And, to do so, we must ask how philanthropists can do better at making the world better.

Thankfully, with support from the Raikes Foundation and the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The Philanthropy Workshop (TPW) was in a position to take time to probe into the knowledge, practices and attitudes of 219 TPW members and other high-wealth philanthropists to learn what’s working and not, and to share these findings with a broad audience that cares about catalyzing social change.

Below are three takeaways from the report’s findings and beyond:

  • Time is reportedly the scarcest resource for philanthropists.
  • Feeling confident about money well spent is not the same as actually achieving impact.
  • Organizations who pursue an evidence-based approach to making change face an uphill battle to compete for resources with organizations that are recommended by friends and family.

Read the full article by Tracy Mack Parker about impact investing from The Philanthropy Workshop