Giving Compass' Take:

• Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors offers recommendations for donors to take the time to “review, recalibrate, and recommit”  efforts to charitable giving. 

• The author mentions impact investing as a way to recalibrate giving approaches. How can donors learn more about the newer giving practices? 

• Check out the Giving Compass Impact Investing Magazine for more information. 


In 2008, we released a guide called “Giving in Challenging Times,” to provide donors with guidance and support as our communities felt the effects of the global financial crisis. Nearly ten years later, we see a different type of crisis – a crisis of confidence in political institutions and an unraveling of the social compact in many countries. Diaspora and migration have displaced millions.

We recommended that donors take their time to carefully “review, recalibrate, and recommit” – an approach that also makes sense now.

Review: First, prioritize the grantees who may be most at risk. Second, consider whether your philanthropy’s ultimate beneficiaries now have different needs and priorities.

Recalibrate: This could mean stepping out of your comfort zone to support new grantees, forge new partnerships, or take an entirely different approach to giving. And right now, there is no shortage of creative approaches to philanthropy; from the swiftly rising trend of impact investing to the choice of spend-down giving to the focus on leadership. Donors have more tools than ever before to achieve impact.

Recommit: Keep the long term in mind –the issues that created the challenges we face took many years to develop, and will take time and patience to address in a sustainable way.

Read the full article about giving in challenging times at Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors.