Giving Compass' Take:

• Anne Kazimirsk informs readers of the impact of informed empathy on building stronger giving foundations.

• How can informed empathy create a deeper, more authentic giving community? Are you ready to incorporate informed empathy into your own giving experience?

• Learn more about the essential role of empathy in philanthropy.

As a foundation, you have to work quite hard to keep your feet on the ground. You tend to be several steps away from the people affected by the issues you work on. It is difficult to be on top of the reality of these people’s every day lives, as well as the reality of the day to day service delivery that you fund, especially if you fund across a wide range of areas.

Keeping on top of this reality is informed empathy. It’s knowing what it’s like to be in that role or to experience that life, and the ability to understand what it’s like, as best you can. It is always easier to support a friend with an issue if you’ve experienced something similar yourself. Parenting advice is often about putting yourself in your child’s shoes to understand why they’re angry or upset. And it’s the same in the workplace: charities really value having carers on staff if they support carers, or disabled employees if they campaign on disability.

With informed empathy, we are stronger funders, service deliverers, researchers, evaluators. Let ACF’s report inspire you to drive forward your informed and empathetic impact and learning practice.

Read the full article about giving with informed empathy by Anne Kazimirski at NPC.