William E. Simon Lecture on Philanthopy and Social Entrepreneurship

"Annually, since 2007, the Manhattan Institute has sponsored the William E. Simon lecture on philanthropy and social entrepreneurship. This lecture series seeks to provide a framework—historical and current, scholarly and personal—for understanding the tradition and trends in American charity and charitable enterprises."

On December 3, 20009, Bridgespan Chairman and Co-founder Thomas Tierney will speak on "Mistakes Philanthropists Make—and How They're Shortchanging America."  The materials below provide background for his remarks.

"Delivering on the Promise of Nonprofits" 
(Jeffrey L. Bradach, Thomas J. Tierney, and Nan Stone, Harvard Business Review, December 2008)
Nonprofit leaders face unique challenges in achieving results, but a growing number are showing it can be done—by rigorously confronting questions related to strategy, capital, and talent.

"Galvanizing Philanthropy" 
(Susan Colby and Susan Wolf Ditkoff, Harvard Business Review, November 2009)
To strengthen their impact in the world, philanthropic investors need to rigorously define their goals, be realistic about how to achieve them, and commit to continual, systematic improvement.

"Higher-Impact Philanthropy" 
(Thomas J. Tierney, Philanthropy, January/February 2007)
There will surely be even more philanthropists and more foundations giving away more money. But will this influx of philanthropic capital yield dramatically more social impact?

"How Nonprofits Get Really Big" 
(William Foster and Gail Perreault, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Spring 2007)
Since 1970, more than 200,000 nonprofits have opened in the U.S., but only 144 of them have reached $50 million in annual revenue. Most of the members of this elite group got big by doing two things. They raised the bulk of their money from a single type of funder such as corporations or government—and not, as conventional wisdom would recommend, by going after diverse sources of funding. Just as importantly, these nonprofits created professional organizations that were tailored to the needs of their primary funding sources.

"Money to Grow On" 
(William Foster, Stanford Social Innovation Review, Fall 2008)
In the for-profit world, the term “investment” has clear meaning and investors have sophisticated techniques for spotting and growing the most promising companies. Yet foundations and other nonprofit donors have not developed similar clarity or approaches. As a result, the nonprofit sector’s greatest gems often languish well below their full potential. By better translating for-profit concepts, donors can learn how to scout out and grow the best nonprofits.