New Ways of Working Together: A Role for Philanthropy

We are in the early days of a potentially cataclysmic shift away from government financial support for non-profits. This financial collapse crosses the spectrum of programmatic areas: science, medicine, education, transportation, agriculture, the environment, arts and culture and more. Philanthropy as traditionally practiced at the institutional, family foundation, or individual level cannot close the funding gap. We are also on the cusp of the largest transfer of wealth in US history. Those in a position to give need new ways to operate in a dramatically different ecosystem.

New Ways of Working Together: A Role for Philanthropy recounts how the Rauch Foundation, a privately administered family philanthropy established in the 1960s, drastically redefined its role with the goal of achieving far greater regional impact on Long Island.  Their evolution meant forming organic, tri-sector alliances, where stakeholders can come together to nimbly solve community problems without the weight of formal structures. While the story centers on the challenges Long Island faced, it offers insights applicable to any region in need and specific steps philanthropic leaders can adopt.

This book advocates for
•      expanding philanthropy's role beyond giving to convening
•      exercising the power of solid data to move policy
•      learning how to seek outside guidance and identify powerful partners
•      forming mutually beneficial partnerships with public and private entities
•      re-orienting the board to lead with greater intention
•      overcoming risk aversion by managing potential downsides
•      discovering talent wherever it exists

The book profiles numerous individuals whose expertise and commitment contributed to the Rauch Foundation's breakthrough successes.  These profiles suggest the diversity and availability of the sort of "outsiders" foundations should be actively recruiting to enhance their capacity for affecting meaningful change.