Giving Compass' Take:

• Library For All and Siegel Family Endowment convened last week to discuss the future of philanthropy and the barriers they see around charitable giving. Key takeaways from the discussion focus on transparency, unrestricted funding, venture philanthropy and the opportunities for foundations. 

• How can grantees and foundations utilize these takeaways to bring about positive change for the future of philanthropy? 

• Read about how to strengthen impact philanthropy through strengthening relationships between funders and grantees. 

Last week, Library for All and Siegel Family Endowment came together at the Australian Consulate-General in New York for a panel discussion on the future of philanthropy. Jessica Traynor (President and Executive Director of SFE) and Tanyella Evans (Co-Founder and CEO of Library for All) sat down with a simple goal: share ideas, from both funder and grantee perspectives, about how philanthropy can push traditional boundaries and challenge expectations — and unearth ways for forward-thinking organizations to pave the way for broader changes in the field for the future of philanthropy.

So what were the takeaways?

  • In the early stages, an “unrestricted grant” can mean “unlimited ambition.” Restricted funding can put grantees in the position of having to shape their programs to meet the desires of a funder — sometimes at the expense of the people they set out to serve in the first place.
  • Transparency is key — but maybe not in the ways that you think. Openness does not necessarily mean oversharing — and typically, that’s not even what grantees want from a funder anyway.
  • Funders should think of themselves as much more than a source of money. The first instruction from our founder was simple, but had tremendous implications: “Don’t just write checks.”
  • Venture philanthropy isn’t about making an investment — it’s about reshaping systems. As defined by Tanyella, venture philanthropy is grounded in the idea that no single organization can be responsible for solving a systemic problem, and that real change comes from collaboration.
  • There’s a lot of opportunity for small foundations to make an impact.

Read the full article about future of philanthropy from the Siegel Family Endowment at Medium