Publications

24 Sep 2015
Blog Post

Why We Recruit: Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation

Nancy Huang (HBS ’96), Director of Outreach, Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation Describe your organization in three to five sentences. The Draper Richards Kaplan Foundation is a global venture philanthropy firm supporting early stage, high... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit / Government

24 Apr 2014
News

Understanding the language of business

scholarships, and supported the renovation of Stone Hall (formerly Quincy House). “I have chosen to spend a great deal of my philanthropy on Harvard,” Rothenberg once said. “I’m in the investment business, and it’s hard to find a better... View Details

Article

Avoiding Overhead Aversion in Charity

By: Uri Gneezy, Elizabeth A. Keenan and Ayelet Gneezy

Donors tend to avoid charities that dedicate a high percentage of expenses to administrative and fundraising costs, limiting the ability of nonprofits to be effective. We propose a solution to this problem: Use donations from major philanthropists to cover overhead... View Details

Keywords: Marketing Strategy; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving

January 2013
Supplement

The Great East Japan Earthquake (D): Lawson's Response

By: Hirotaka Takeuchi, Victor Stone, Samer Abughannam, Sebastien D'Incau, Jonathan Driscoll, Katharine Hill and Jeffrey Reynolds

CEO Niinami Takeshi (HBS '91) stared out his corner office window as the Tokyo skyscrapers swayed and the concrete trembled. He was in the midst of the largest seismic event to hit Japan in recorded history. Lawson's managers understood earthquake response. They had... View Details

Keywords: East Japan; Earthquake; Lawson's; Natural Disasters; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Japan

Article

Happiness Runs in a Circular Motion: Evidence for a Positive Feedback Loop between Prosocial Spending and Happiness

By: Lara B. Aknin, Elizabeth W. Dunn and Michael I. Norton

We examine whether a positive feedback loop exists between spending money on others (i.e. prosocial spending) and happiness. Participants recalled a previous purchase made for either themselves or someone else and then reported their happiness. Afterward, participants... View Details

Keywords: Prosocial Spending; Happiness; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving

28 May 2019
News

INK: Maker’s Manual

promise and the perils of philanthropy. NEW Giving Done Right Effective Philanthropy and Making Every Dollar Count by Phil Buchanan “I’m a big believer in free-market capitalism, but I also believe we need a strong nonprofit sector. This... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint

26 May 2020
Cold Call Podcast

Can the ‘Cummings Way’ Live On after the Founder Retires?

Keywords: Re: Christina R. Wing; Real Estate

24 Apr 2014
News

From venture capitalist to 'compassionate capitalist'

co-creator of the concept. Born in Egypt and now living in England, Cohen became interested in social capital and philanthropy in 2000 when he led the UK Treasury’s Social Investment Task Force. He subsequently was involved in a variety... View Details

01 Sep 2009
News

A Book by Its Cover

series to accommodate different preferences, the company employed a stable of writers, hundreds of whom today crank out 130 million books a year in 29 languages. A prominent backer of the fine arts, Heisey was named an Officer of the Order of Canada in 1994 in... View Details

Portrait Project

Ipsita Dasgupta

parents to seek better healthcare and education for their children or a venture philanthropy fund that supports hospitals, schools, and microfinance institutions that provide for the needs of the poor. View Details

25 Apr 2014
News

Empowering women to lead

Katie Hood (MBA 2001) uses the same results-oriented business philosophy in her philanthropy work as she does in the course she teaches about educating the next generation of women leaders. A visiting lecturer and senior fellow with the... View Details

01 Oct 2018
News

For the Greater Good

John A. Paulson (MBA 1980) is president of the investment firm Paulson & Co. and a 2018 recipient of the HBS Alumni Achievement Award. In this video he offers his views on the nature and role of philanthropy as a means to have a positive... View Details

Keywords: Finance

November 2015
Article

When Doing Good Is Bad in Gift-giving: Mis-predicting Appreciation of Socially Responsible Gifts

By: Lisa A. Cavanaugh, F. Gino and Gavan J. Fitzsimons

Gifts that support a worthy cause (i.e., "gifts that give twice"), such as a charitable donation in the recipient's name, have become increasingly popular. Recipients generally enjoy these gifts, which not only benefit others in need but also make recipients feel good... View Details

Keywords: Perception; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving

March 2012 (Revised March 2012)
Teaching Note

Samasource: Give Work, Not Aid (TN)

By: Francesca Gino and Bradely R. Staats

Keywords: Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Jobs and Positions

Spring 2024
Article

One Aspirational Future for India’s Higher Education Sector

By: Tarun Khanna

Several recent encouraging experiments in Indian higher education suggest a plausible aspirational path toward a more salubrious future than that suggested by an otherwise struggling system. Four case studies of privately conceived and funded universities each exhibit... View Details

Keywords: Higher Education; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; India

July 15, 2013
Article

Five Tips for Running an Effective Charitable Foundation

By: Josh Baron

Keywords: Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Performance Effectiveness

February 2018
Article

The Impact of a Surprise Donation Ask

By: Christine L. Exley and Ragan Petrie

Individuals frequently exploit "flexibility" built into decision environments to give less. They use uncertainty to justify options benefiting themselves over others, they avoid information that may encourage them to give, and they avoid the ask itself. In this paper,... View Details

Keywords: Charitable Giving; Prosocial Behavior; Self-serving Biases; Excuses; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Behavior

April 2013
Article

Making a Difference Matters: Impact Unlocks the Emotional Benefits of Prosocial Spending

By: Lara B. Aknin, Elizabeth W. Dunn, Ashley V. Whillans, Adam M. Grant and Michael I. Norton

When does giving lead to happiness? Here, we present two studies demonstrating that the emotional benefits of spending money on others (prosocial spending) are unleashed when givers are aware of their positive impact. In Study 1, an experiment using real... View Details

Keywords: Prosocial Spending; Prosocial Impact; Subjective Well Being; Donations; Happiness; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving

May 2022 (Revised October 2022)
Supplement

The Freedom Fund (B)

By: V. Kasturi Rangan and Courtney Han

The Freedom Fund (B) case describes the management’s plan of how to use the windfall of $35 million granted by philanthropist Mackenzie Scott. The case also describes the process by which the decisions were arrived at. View Details

Keywords: Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Spending; Decision Making