Great music is more than the sum of its parts. A certain combination of notes, chords, and lyrics may create an exquisite gem of a song — or a barnburner of a jam — but what’s required to elevate music to the level of greatness is something else: an artist’s specific point of view, a distinctive and even idiosyncratic bent to their creativity that thrusts that harmony of notes, chords, and lyrics into an altogether different realm.

This same notion is also true of philanthropy. The greatest funders are more than a checklist of characteristics or strategies, formulaically pursuing the “right” approaches or best practices can only get you so far. What distinguishes funders who make the most impact is a strain of emotional intelligence and a durable perspective — often expressed lyrically through a specific vision or set of values. When a funder has done this well, you can usually see it in their grantmaking portfolio — not just where they give but how they give, and through the relationships they have built along the way, each of these elements part of their own distinct song.

Which brings me — and bear with me here — to the phenomenon that is Taylor Swift. We all know about her accolades and achievements, not to mention the seismic effect she’s had on our culture, but I want to home in on one dimension of her greatness: her unique talent for mining the vicissitudes of her personal life to convey something truthful and universal about the human experience.

Philanthropy, for many, is about this same commitment; it’s an expression of values and beliefs about how the world can be improved, how it can be more just, and even more joyful. With this in mind, and just for fun, I’ve mined the Swift catalog (Taylor’s version, of course) and put together a list of ways funders can express themselves as fully as the inimical artist in question.

1. “Eyes Open” … or focus on understanding grantees and their contexts.

It may be impossible to understand a grantee organization fully, but that doesn’t make the effort any less worthwhile. Performing the indispensable and fascinating work of learning about grantees — their organizations, their fields, the needs of their beneficiaries, the social and socioeconomic factors that affect their work — can be the quickest way to bridge the gap between a funder and a grantee. In return, this effort can help grantees understand your own goals as a funder, including your broader efforts and where their work fits within these aims.

 2. “Wildest Dreams” … or consider providing multi-year, unrestricted funding.

We all know how powerful multi-year, unrestricted funding can be in the eyes of grantees, who frequently point to this approach as being the most important driver for their ability to make an impact. As we’ve seen through some of CEP’s own research, being able to unlock grantees’ potential by trusting them over time and offering them the latitude to make the best decisions for themselves can be transformative — a literal dream come true.

Read the full article about great philanthropy by Joseph Lee at The Center for Effective Philanthropy.