August 8, 2010 | Read Time: 1 minute
The Essence of Strategic Giving: A Practical Guide for Donors and Fundraisers
By Peter Frumkin
Philanthropy is at its most effective and innovative when donors are encouraged to make gifts that reflect their personal interests and their own beliefs as to what constitutes the public good, writes Mr. Frumkin, a professor in the Lyndon B. Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University of Texas at Austin. Toward this end, Mr. Frumkin explains in detail five components of giving he considers essential for donors to navigate before they settle into their philanthropy: the value they want to gain through their giving; the type and scope of program they want to support; a giving style and the amount of recognition they prefer; a time frame they want to give within; and the charitable approaches they will use, such as giving through a community foundation or creating a family fund.
He notes that many choices are possible and there is no single right answer. But he says “constructing a coherent strategy in philanthropy involves working tirelessly—both initially and continuously over time—to get all five elementsaligned with one another.”
Publisher: University of Chicago Press, 1427 East 60th Street, Chicago, Ill. 60637; (773) 702-7700; fax (773) 702-9756; http://www.press.uchicago.edu; 171 pages; $15.00; ISBN 978-0-226-26627-5.
