Building a new business model for the philanthropy advisory industry
Sean Stannard-Stockton's blog - Tactical Philanthropy - has long been a credible and updated reference point on the current state of philanthropy and where it is headed. His insight and analysis has spawned critical commentary and responses from some of the leading thinkers in this space, and has demonstrated the tremendous latent demand for a clear and reasoned voice on issues related to social investing. Many other blogs, including this one, continue to be inspired by the breadth and depth of the issues that Sean weaves into his blog on a regular basis.
What's even more exciting, however, is where Sean is headed next. He's just launched Tactical Philanthropy Advisors to build a new business model for the philanthropy advisory industry. The new firm - a for-profit company preparing to file for B Corp status - will be working on bringing the language and tools of social finance to high net worth donors. The firm has already established working arrangements with Schwab Charitable, Fidelity Charitable Gift Fund, Calvert Giving Fund and Foundation Source to provide administrative back office services, as well as advisory services, for clients with $1 million to $50 million or more in philanthropic assets.
There's a number of other pieces that make Sean's new venture unique. The firm is making a commitment to support the work of the Philanthropic Ventures Foundation, a public charity that that helps donors of all levels of wealth to engage in creative philanthropy. TPA will also be working with Jed Emerson and IDEO to build a Tactical Philanthropy Knowledge Network that will launch later this year. And it will also be working with Exponent Partners – the firm that developed the PULSE social investment tracking system for Acumen Fund and a Salesforce powered grant management system for Google.org – to build a grantmaking and impact reporting platform geared to the needs of individual donors.
Given how much impact the Tactical Philanthropy blog has had on the industry in a relatively short period of time, it will be interesting to track how this model will evolve to address multiple needs in the social investment marketplace. If you're looking for more information, check out the press release and the FAQspage. Sean will be speaking at SoCap this year, and I'm looking forward to hearing his thoughts on how the philanthropic advisory industry needs to evolve, as well as the corresponding shifts around notions of risk, return and (social) impact.
