The Misuse of Data is Solvable

Wall Street Philanthropy? Lessons For Effective Investing

Giving Compass' Take: • In this Forbes post, Chris Addy from The Bridgespan Group discusses how philanthropists can learn investing strategy from the brokerage world to increase impact. • Among the tips are balanced portfolios and undervalued assets: Are we putting our money in the right places? • Here's more on why impact investing is the future of philanthropy. Wall Street is having an ever-growing influence on philanthropy. A 2015 research paper titled “The Wall Street Takeover of Nonprofit Boards” found that the percentage of nonprofit board members who come from finance has doubled since 1989. And nearly half of Giving Pledge signatories living in the U.S. are from the world of finance. Many leaders on Wall Street and in the broader field of financial services have succeeded through effective investing and savvy deal making. That success has given them means to become influential philanthropists. However, an important question for any investor-turned-philanthropist to ask is: Which lessons from Wall Street can make for more effective philanthropy: Build (and periodically rebalance) your portfolio. Philanthropist and former Fidelity fund manager Peter Lynch has a mantra: “Know what you own, and know why you own it ..." Look to undervalued markets for outsized returns. Donating to universities and hospitals is akin to investing in blue chips or stocks with high dividends. Philanthropists, like savvy investors, should look to undervalued markets ... Leverage your investment. The social sector equivalent to a leveraged investment is getting others to invest with you — matching grants, multi-funder collaborations, or early-stage grants (i.e., to organizations that can eventually use government funding or other sources of income). There are many exceptional nonprofits out there getting tremendous results, yet starving for funds to expand their impact. By bringing with them the right investment disciplines, and leaving others on the Street, veterans of the financial and investment worlds can have a deep and lasting impact on the causes they care most about. Read full article about Wall Street-inspired philanthropy by Chris Addy at Forbes.