photo: d.o.b foundation

Creative Philanthropy: Toward a New Philanthropy for the 21st Century

This book by Helmut K. Anheier en Diana Leat, has sharpened our minds and inspires our thinking and doing. On this page you won't find our words, but we quote several parts straight from their handy and compact executive summary*.

"That foundations have done much good in the world is beyond doubt. But the key question is not 'do foundations do good' but rather 'do foundations do the best they possibly could in the current environment?'.
One of the foundations' weaknesses is that the world has changed while they have remained much the same.

The malaise in the world of philanthropy is a lack of awareness of what could be possible, and what greater, and largely unrealized, potential foundations could have. In our opinion, at its core, is the limitation of current models and approaches. The willingness and ability to overcome these limitations could provide the key to reinventing philanthropy as a central institution of society.

Conventional philanthropy developed specific weaknesses in the culture and practice of foundations. Being aware of them is the first step towards philanthropic renewal.

A key insight is that lack of solutions to problems is often related more to lack of knowledge, ideas and political will, rather than lack of money. This over-emphasis on the power of financial resources may distract foundations from the difficult task of analyzing what really is needed to achieve a sustainable difference.

Foundations are free from market and political constraints, so they can make a unique contribution to democratic debate. They should maximize the breadth and sustainability of their impact.
To achieve this, creative philanthropy is necessary. By this, we mean the unique capacity of foundations to spot innovative solutions to problems, to jump-start and then help sustain the innovation process and to help disseminate and implement results.

Creativity is the act of finding an approach to a solution of a perceived problem or need, and for generating or making possible some kind of innovation in response. An innovation is an idea, practice or object that is perceived as new.
Diffusion is a particular communication about a new idea and the process in which innovation is communicated through channels over time among the members of a social system.

Our argument is that foundations are uniquely situated to become major agents and sources of creativity and innovation, enhancing diffusion processes towards desired outcomes or objectives. Critical for innovation and diffusion patterns is the degree of similarity among communicators.
Foundations can contribute to these patterns by spanning boundaries, linking actors and convening constituencies that would otherwise be unconnected.
Foundations can take a systemic view with the overall public benefit in mind and may ensure that innovations reach optimal entry and diffusion points, help otherwise neglected or disadvantaged constituencies and affect wider policy change addressing issues of equity and social justice.

Because creativity often involves challenging the conventional wisdoms and experimenting 'outside the box', creative foundations have to take risks. Risk is an occupational hazard of creativity and innovation. In an important sense creative foundations do not have 'failures'.
Things that go wrong or do not work out are seen not as failures but as valuable learning opportunities. For this reason, creative foundations are learning organizations: learning how to do things better, how to resolve problems and sharing that learning with others, is seen as a key step towards the outcomes they seek.

Foundations are the potential powerhouse of creative thinking and working that society needs.

The approach of creative philanthropy proposed here could become an important step towards that promise."

* Download the EXECUTIVE SUMMARY by Helmut K. Anheier and Diana Leat, University of California, Los Angeles