We work with successful individuals, families, and foundations to ensure their philanthropy creates the greatest possible impact and fulfillment.
Are you ready to
Do Philanthropy Differently?
We are specialized philanthropic advisors who believe philanthropy is capable of creating more impact, more fulfillment, more magic, more wow!
For more than 20 years, we have empowered highly successful individuals, families, and foundations to maximize the power of their philanthropy and solve the problems they care most about.
Are you ready to
Do Philanthropy Differently?
We are specialized philanthropic advisors who believe philanthropy is capable of creating more impact, more fulfillment, more magic, more wow!
For more than 20 years, we have empowered highly successful individuals, families, and foundations to maximize the power of their philanthropy and solve the problems they care most about.
Are you ready to
Do Philanthropy Differently?
We are specialized philanthropic advisors who believe philanthropy is capable of creating more impact, more fulfillment, more magic, more wow!
For more than 20 years, we have empowered highly successful individuals, families, and foundations to maximize the power of their philanthropy and solve the problems they care most about.
PHILANTHROPY
THE TRADITIONAL WAY
THE ANONYMOUS WAY
PHILANTHROPY
THE TRADITIONAL WAY
Reactive, Driven by Grant Requests
Strategic, Driven By Purpose
Measured By Impact
Measured In Dollars
Active, Engaging to Create Solutions
Passive, Relying Entirely On Others
Brings Joy, Fulfillment, and Meaning
Can Be Impersonal and Transactional
THE ANONYMOUS WAY
Knowing with certainty You Made This Happen
Unclear Outcomes
We have strong beliefs about the world of philanthropy.
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Philanthropy is the greatest change agent on the planet. Philanthropy can achieve what companies, governments, and often whole societies cannot. Philanthropy has the power to get to the very root of society’s ills and fix them.
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We’d like to see a world where the greatest philanthropists are celebrated for the impact they create rather than the dollars they’ve invested. In sports, success is measured with a scorecard. In business, success is measured by profit. In philanthropy, success should be measured by impact.
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In some cases, world class organizations are solving problems by themselves. However we’ve also encountered charities more focused on fundraising than creating impact. And often, we believe problem solving requires thinking and action beyond any one charity alone. (For a standalone example of a world class org we admire, check out www.charitywater.org)
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They come in all shapes and forms and sizes. From awareness campaigns to AI technology and from gatherings of world experts to sending a scientist into low gravity orbit, we believe in the power of big ideas.
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Currently it’s roughly 85/15, in favor of the heirs. We’d like to help shape a world in which that balance is shifted, even slightly, toward philanthropy.
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Far too often we’ve seen philanthropists who care deeply about a subject hand strategic thinking and implementation over to an organization that isn’t truly equipped to solve the problem. We believe philanthropists should be engaged for their minds as much as their dollars.
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We agree that philanthropists should prioritize impact. However we also believe that philanthropists should create impact in a way that simultaneously creates fulfillment. It’s a virtuous cycle, with greater fulfillment creating a greater commitment to philanthropy.
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Philanthropy has the ability to be a force multiplier of tremendous scale. Because philanthropy can weave together partners and strategies, it has the ability to create outcomes many mulplles greater than the financial investment.
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We do not advise or consult outside of the philanthropic lane. Our clients have world class teams of attorneys and wealth advisors. We have seen how inviting a client’s circle of trusted advisors to engage with philanthropy strengthens those relationships as well.
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We believe solving the world’s greatest challenges brings opportunities for joy, for family, for friends, for fun! Yes, we understand the work is serious business. But that doesn’t mean we can’t have a smile on our faces while we do it.
The Old Way
Vs.
The Anonymous Way
VS.
The Old Way Vs. The Anonymous Way VS.
Reactive, Driven by Grant Requests
Strategic, Driven By Purpose
Measured By Impact
Measured In Dollars
Active, Engaging to Create Solutions
Passive, Relying Entirely On Others
Brings Joy, Fulfillment, and Meaning
Can Be Impersonal and Transactional
Knowing with certainty You Made This Happen
Unclear Outcomes
OuR clients can point to specific change in the world and say
“I made that happen.”
Philanthropy with
More Impact
$1M given strategically could deliver the impact of $100M given to underperforming solutions.
We help clients find, strategize, and leverage philanthropic opportunities to deliver the greatest possible impact and solve problems at scale.
Philanthropy with
More Fulfillment
Our clients roll up their sleeves to help define success, shape strategy, and connect to the solutions they enable.
They work alongside thought leaders, innovators and icons to do more than write checks or attend galas.
Philanthropy with
Anonymous
We believe the attention belongs on the work, and when appropriate, on our clients.
Our name itself is inspired by the Jewish Talmudic teaching that says there are eight ascending levels of giving. The lowest level is giving begrudgingly. The highest level of giving is anonymously.
Our logo is a humble nod to the fact that while most people will never know the part we play, those who know us will recognize our fingerprint.
Changing the world with
Our 5 step process
Step 1. Defining Purpose
Our process begins by meeting you where you are.
Some clients arrive with a defined problem they are ready to solve. Others have spent a career supporting a wide portfolio of programs. While others are new to philanthropy and ready for an exploration of causes, needs, and opportunities.
Together we will explore questions so that we can understand:
Step 2. Strategy & Research
We Tap into our unparalleled network of thought leaders.
We are proud of our extensive network of scientists, doctors, icons, CEOs, deans, journalists, change-makers, and leaders. And we seek to understand any subject by first connecting with those who know it best.
We compile our findings into an Ecosystem Landscape document which includes topics such as:
Key Statistics, Overview & History
Insights From Subject Matter Experts
Nonprofits & Organizations
Areas of Need & Areas of Opportunity
Step 3. Big Ideas
And we do mean Big ideas.
Let’s put Lady Gaga and the Dalai Lama on stage together to raise awareness of kindness.
Let’s build a fly fishing lodge in Montana where disabled veterans can go to heal.
Let’s architect a food distribution solution to deliver more than eleven million pounds of food to 350,000 people.
Let’s leverage Artificial Intelligence to help tens of thousands of formerly incarcerated people create professional resumes and find jobs.
Let’s build a cohort of eco-projects from across the planet to save under represented species.
Let’s work to end to childhood drowning by educating thousands of pediatricians and millions of parents.
Step 4. Action Planning
Plan the work. Work the plan.
With big ideas in hand, we shift into a strategic Action Planning process to build a roadmap that is goal-oriented, measurable and tangible.
Client goals are articulated. Expectations are set. All team members, partners, and collaborators are aligned around:
Goals
Strategies
Intended Outcomes
Timeline
Budget (It’s worth noting, we do not determine our clients’ budget. Clients set their own budget based on a shared understanding of scope, scale, geography and other factors.)
Step 5. Flawless Execution
The Signature Philanthropic Initiative
The result of our exploration, research, ideation and planning phases is a Signature Philanthropic Initiative designed to:
Address the specific challenge you care most about
Create leverage to ensure dollars are catalytic and highly efficient
Be communicated to clients and their team with clarity and consistency
Be implemented flawlessly
Create outsized impact and bring immeasurable fulfillment
Here’s a snapshot of a few of our Signature Initiatives
Protecting Your Legacy
The Charitable Distribution Trustee
Who will decide
how your legacy is written?
The discussion of how one’s philanthropic assets are deployed after death can be difficult.
Funds are often left to specific organizations, which do not account for shifts in an organization’s direction. Or they rely upon relatives and trustees, who often choose to support causes the original donor would have never chosen.
Now there is a solution to this problem.
A Charitable Distribution Trustee is the only solution that allows for a donor to direct the impact of their philanthropy after their lifetime, solving the problems they care most about long into the future.
What the industry is saying about the CDT
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What the industry is saying about the CDT -
“From an advisor’s perspective, the structure removes fear. It offers a pathway to preserving donor intent, and ensures goals will not be left up to outside interpretation.”
— Colby Bircher, Fidelity
“It’s an actual process, with a tangible roadmap. It gives us another reason to have an active conversation with our clients about family roles, and responsibility. This should be standard for all new DAFs within 6 months of establishing.”
— Kristin Hammett, THE SIGNATRY
“I love this. CDT combines accountability and flexibility within a safeguarded structure. The assets belong to the DAF sponsor, however the purpose is to achieve the goals of the client.”
— Karen Dye, Head of Goldman Sachs DAF
We recognize that the topic of deploying assets after one is gone can be a difficult conversation. However if you’ve got a healthcare directive or even life insurance, you’ve taken steps to be prepared. Shouldn’t decisions of your legacy receive the same lifetime attention?
Let’s talk about what matters to you.