In Jeffrey C. Walker’s philanthropy, teamwork makes the dream work.

“I have a spiritual belief system that is tied to reducing suffering and enhancing joy in the world,” Walker said. “If I can figure out the best way to do that, and [be] impactful by partnering with others to achieve that goal, then it makes me happy.”

Jeffrey C. Walker
[Jeffrey C. Walker. Photo credit: New Profit]

Walker, who wears many hats in the philanthropic world, is New Profit’s board chairman and co-founder of the Grammys Music Education Coalition. He also serves as Vice Chair in the United Nations Envoy’s Office for Health Finance and Malaria. In these roles, his collaborative approach has produced real results for both him and beneficiaries.

"Working with partners has created a lot of joy for me, but also our collaborations have had a significant impact on the world by, for example, in global health, lowering the deaths from malaria by a million lives a year and we have created some really significant progress in bringing community health workers to Africa," he said.

To accomplish his goals, Walker looks for avatars, or “people I wish I was but don’t have time to be” and provides them with the network and resources they need to be effective. When identifying the best partnerships, he uses specific criteria: Individuals who have a managed ego -- recognizing they don’t have all the answers -- and are focused on system-wide impact.

Uncovering System Entrepreneurs

When Walker became New Profit’s board chairman in 2016, he identified collaboration as the necessary tool to bring about systemic change. Nearly three years later, New Profit has become a leader in growing and incubating system entrepreneurs, people who address underlying causes, not symptoms, of social ills.

“Many social entrepreneurs we’ve backed in the past, like [Teach for America Founder] Wendy Kopp, have now become system entrepreneurs,” Walker said. “We can be an effective intermediary that has the skills to help those system entrepreneurs achieve their goals.”

Part of New Profit’s appeal to donors is the opportunity to share knowledge and networks, in addition to funding, but Walker says he also wants to bring more donors together to create shared ownership of a problem.

“Part of that is funding system entrepreneurs, these orchestrators, who can be the collaborative glue to hold us together as we work on important problems,” Walker said.

Walker says it’s time for donors to break down walls, have open discussions and give up some of their authority. In that spirit, Walker says New Profit is making a concerted effort to include those who are proximate to the problems in decision-making processes.

While Walker is a true believer in system entrepreneurship, he admits there is more to learn about this change model. He’s hopeful that as more donors are exposed to success stories and tools, more philanthropic dollars will flow toward the individuals who are identifying problems and creating solutions.

And perhaps, it’s best to look at Walker’s experience.

“The organizations I’ve helped support and been around have given me joy and have been reasonably effective in helping pull together these different stakeholders around common problems that hopefully make the world a better place,” he said.

Advice to Donors

Look Inward: Don’t assume your for-profit experience will translate to the nonprofit space. “You need to have self-inquiry strategies. How do you become a better partner so that you listen better? How do you reflect and say: ‘Who should I partner with?’”

Consider Supporting Issue Funds: Walker, a former Wall Street executive, reminds other donors that issue funds don’t operate like a private equity fund. Instead, they support efforts to fight large-scale social issues like neglected tropical diseases (END Fund) or slavery (Freedom Fund). “These collaborations are people coming together to co-create a solution that will have scaled sustainable impact.”