A glimpse of what you'll see
Conversations reveals how our interviewees think about effective philanthropy in relation to their families, how they pick causes to champion and work with grantees to implement their vision, and how they define success and measure results. They share what has been inspirational, humbling, and surprising along the way, and what they wished they’d known as a new philanthropist.
What the interviewees say about Conversations
“While everyone's philanthropic journey will be unique, we can all learn from the experience of others.” – Jennifer Buffett
“This unique archive is a great resource for philanthropists who care about effective giving. It also provides a window for nonprofit leaders into the motivation and thinking of donors.” – Mario Morino
“I am delighted to take part in a project that provides an in-depth look at the practice of philanthropy, told from the point of view of those who are deeply engaged. I hope this will encourage more information sharing and more philanthropy.” – Carrie Avery
“The Bridgespan/Give Smart project is a roadmap of shared wisdom, insights and experiences that will help any would-be philanthropist. It would have certainly kept me out of a few ditches.” – Connie Duckworth
“Having an opportunity to access knowledge and wisdom from others further along in their own journey allows each of us to more effectively and efficiently optimize the change for which we hope to be a part.” – Richard Atlas
”The times call for philanthropy, not only to step up, but also to step out, to shift from being charitable (doing good) to asserting leadership (changing the game) in igniting and supporting efforts to effect breakthrough solutions.” – Steve McCormick
“Giving away money is not easy if done right. I think this is a great way to use 21st century technology as a resource from the many serious philanthropists that spend their hard earned money to make the world a better place. I will learn from many on the site and hope my insights are also helpful.” – Bernie Marcus
List of Interviewees
- Wallis Annenberg
Chairman of the Board, President & CEO, The Annenberg Foundation
Leonard Aube
Executive Director, The Annenberg Foundation - Laura Arnold
Co-chair, Laura and John Arnold Foundation
John Arnold
Co-chair, Laura and John Arnold Foundation - Richard Atlas
Co-founding Trustee, The Atlas Family Foundation
Retired General Partner, Goldman, Sachs & Co. - Carrie Avery
President, The Durfee Foundation - Josh Bekenstein
Chair, New Profit Inc.
Managing Director, Bain Capital, LLC - Geoff Boisi
Chairman & CEO, Roundtable Investment Partners, LLC
Co-founder, MENTOR/National Mentoring Partnership - Paul Brest
Professor of Law, Emeritus & Former Dean, Stanford Law School - Eli Broad
Co-founder, The Broad Foundations
Co-founder, KB Home & Founder, SunAmerica - Charles R. Bronfman
Chairman, The Andrea & Charles Bronfman Philanthropies
Co-founder, Taglit-Birthright Israel - Jennifer Buffett
President & Co-chair, NoVo Foundation
Peter Buffett
Co-chair, NoVo Foundation - Emmett D. Carson, Ph.D.
President & CEO, Silicon Valley Community Foundation - Jean Case
CEO, The Case Foundation
Steve Case
Chairman, The Case Foundation; CEO, Revolution, LLC
Co-founder, AOL - Ray Chambers
UN Secretary-General’s Special Envoy for Malaria - Desh Deshpande
Founder, Deshpande Foundation
President & Chairman, Sparta Group LLC - Bill Draper
Co-chair & Co-founder, Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation
General Partner, Draper Richards L.P. - Stanley Druckenmiller
Founder, Druckenmiller Foundation; Chairman, Harlem Children's Zone
Former Chairman & President, Duquesne Capital Management - Connie K. Duckworth
Founder & CEO, ARZU, Inc.
Former Partner & Managing Director, Goldman, Sachs & Co. - Doris Fisher
Co-founder, KIPP Foundation
John Fisher
Chairman, KIPP Foundation - Michael J. Fox
Founder, The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research
Deborah W. Brooks
Co-founder & Executive Vice Chairman, The Michael J. Fox Foundation for Parkinson's Research - Melinda Gates
Co-chair, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation - Roger Hertog
President, Hertog Foundation, Inc.
Chairman, Tikvah Fund - Steven M. Hilton
Chairman, President & CEO, Conrad N. Hilton Foundation - Swanee Hunt
Chair, Hunt Alternatives Fund
Former U.S. Ambassador to Austria - Barbara Hyde
President, J.R. Hyde III Family Foundation
President, J.R. Hyde Sr. Family Foundation
J.R. “Pitt” Hyde III
Founder, J.R. Hyde III Family Foundation
Founder & former CEO, AutoZone, Inc. - George Kaiser
Founder, George Kaiser Family Foundation
President & CEO, GBK Corporation
Ken Levit
Executive Director, George Kaiser Family Foundation - Neeru Khosla
Co-founder & Executive Director, CK-12 Foundation - Risa Lavizzo-Mourey, MD, MBA
President & CEO, Robert Wood Johnson Foundation - Carolyn Lynch
Co-founder, President & Chairman, The Lynch Foundation
Peter Lynch
Co-founder & Treasurer, The Lynch Foundation
Vice Chairman, Fidelity Management & Research Co. - Josh Mailman
Founder, Threshold Foundation
Founder, Social Venture Network - Bernie Marcus
Chairman, The Marcus Foundation
Co-founder, The Home Depot - Henry F. McCance
Co-founder, Cure Alzheimer's Fund
Chairman Emeritus, Greylock Partners - Steve McCormick
President, Gordon and Betty Moore Foundation - Mike Milken
Chairman, The Milken Institute - Tashia Morgridge
President, Tosa Foundation
John Morgridge
CFO, Tosa Foundation
Chair Emeritus, Cisco Systems - Mario Morino
Founder & Chairman, Morino Institute
Co-founder & Chairman, Venture Philanthropy Partners - Christy Morse
CEO, Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies - Pierre Omidyar
Founding Partner, Omidyar Network
Founder & Chairman, eBay Inc. - Pete Peterson
Founder & Chairman, Peter G. Peterson Foundation
Co-founder & Chairman Emeritus, The Blackstone Group - Julian Robertson, Jr.
Founder, Tiger Foundation; Founder, Robertson Foundation
Chairman & CEO, Tiger Management, LLC - Nancy Roob
President, The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation - Daniel Rose
Founder & Chairman Emeritus, Harlem Educational Activities Fund
Chairman, Rose Associates, Inc. - Robert Rosenkranz
Founder & President, The Rosenkranz Foundation
CEO, Delphi Financial Group - David Rubenstein
Co-founder & Co-CEO, The Carlyle Group - Herb Sandler
President, Sandler Foundation - Jane Siebels
President & Co-founder, iGiving World
Founder, Chairwoman & CIO, Green Cay Asset Management - Lorie A. Slutsky
President, The New York Community Trust - Tom Steyer
Co-founder, One PacificCoast Foundation
Founder & Senior Managing Member, Farallon Capital Management, LLC - Kelvin H. Taketa
President & CEO, Hawai‘i Community Foundation - Paul Tudor Jones II
Founder, Robin Hood Foundation
Co-chairman & CIO, Tudor Investment Corp. - Ted Turner
Chairman, Turner Foundation, Inc.
Founder & Chairman Emeritus, Turner Broadcasting System, Inc. - Darren Walker
Vice President, Education, Creativity & Free Expression Program, Ford Foundation - David Weekley
Founder, David Weekley Family Foundation
Founder & Chairman, David Weekley Homes - John C. Whitehead
Former Co-chairman, Goldman, Sachs & Co.
Former Deputy Secretary of State
