Giving Compass' Take:

• Ali Webb, writing for Nonprofit Quarterly, surveyed senior leaders in philanthropy and compiled this list of the sector's sins based on their responses. 

• Which of these philanthropy sins will be the most difficult to improve? Would funders agree that all of these behaviors are present in the philanthropic sector?

•  Read about some of these funder lessons from philanthropic failure. 

From a survey I conducted of senior philanthropic leaders across all type of foundations—from the small and local to the large and global—I derived this list of the top seven deadly philanthropic sins.

Blindness to Privilege: According to a 2015 study by the Council of Foundations, some 75 percent of full-time paid foundation staff in the United States identify as white. Any discussion of privilege and power in the sector must also focus on the impact of white privilege in philanthropic giving.

Dismissing Community Knowledge: Foundations don’t know everything and neither do communities. For these relationships to work, “Communities have to trust that what you’re bringing to them is coming from a genuine desire to improve their lives. And you have to trust that when they say, ‘No, we don’t want that,’ that’s a good decision.” says Harris.

Misplaced Accountability: At its core, philanthropy is a very privileged sector. Said one survey respondent, “Most CEOs are trying to impress a group of usually very highly privileged board members, and what falls by the wayside are the people that we should be most accountable to.”

Poor Partners: Several interviewees discussed the difficulty that foundations have collaborating with one another. “Lack of coordination among philanthropies is huge,” said one respondent. “I hope that philanthropy can learn how to partner and be better strategic allies to one another to move change.”

Failure to Learn: “Failure is just information,” says Sieger, while Harris contends that many in philanthropy want to be learners in learning organizations but don’t know how.

Risk Aversion: Foundations that are only accountable to their donors and their boards are well suited to take on high-risk experiments democracies need. The lived experience for many in the sector can be the opposite, however.

Lack of Transparency: Foundations have no legal requirement to share information except for annually filing the IRS’ 990 form. They aren’t required by law to even report how they use their funds.

Read the full article on philanthropy's sins by Ali Webb at Nonprofit Quarterly.