Publications

July 15, 2013
Article

Five Tips for Running an Effective Charitable Foundation

By: Josh Baron

Keywords: Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Performance Effectiveness

June 2013
Background Note

Venture Philanthropy: Its Evolution and Its Future

By: Allen Grossman, Sarah Appleby and Caitlin Reimers

This note explores the current state of venture philanthropy in the U.S. and its future. Based on interviews with 28 practitioners in the field of philanthropy and a review of the literature since the publication of the article introducing the concept of venture... View Details

Keywords: Philanthropy; Nonprofit; Social Institutions; Nonprofit Organizations; Social Entrepreneurship; Civil Society or Community; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; United States

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Web

Giving - Alumni

Fund Help support student financial aid, faculty research, and other HBS priorities. Learn More Advancing the HBS Mission Learn how giving to HBS makes an impact through stories about two alumni who are... View Details

Web

A Tradition of Philanthropy - Alumni

Giving A Tradition of Philanthropy Giving A Tradition of Philanthropy Investing in Leadership Donor support advances the School's mission... View Details

July 2019
Case

Piramal Foundation: The Business of Philanthropy

By: Vikram Gandhi and Mahima Rao-Kachroo

The Piramal Foundation was launched by diversfied Indian conglomerate, the Piramal Group, to improve the healthcare services and quality of education of India’s economically and socially disadvantaged. The foundation operates under three verticals—‘Piramal Foundation... View Details

Keywords: Social Enterprise; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Education; Health Care and Treatment; Performance Improvement; Growth and Development Strategy; Education Industry; Health Industry; India

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15 Aug 2023
Research & Ideas

Why Giving to Others Makes Us Happy

feel good for the actor.” Their review, published in Current Directions in Psychological Science, examines 15 published, pre-registered experiments on prosocial spending and reveals insights about when View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

22 Jan 2014
News

Leading Investors Leaving Mark in City Philanthropy

Keywords: Youth Villages; homeless; Children; Baupost; Jewish; Broad Institute; Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles; Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles

21 Apr 2014
News

Spirit of philanthropy advances Executive Education

During his 50-year career, Tata Group chairman emeritus Ratan Tata (AMP 71, 1975) has become one of India’s most respected business leaders. As head of the Tata Trusts, he is also a champion of philanthropic efforts supporting educational programs, social View Details

06 May 2013
Research & Ideas

How Local Events Shake Up Corporate Philanthropy

philanthropy because even global companies tend to focus corporate giving on local nonprofits. Charitable behavior is a key area of interest for Marquis, whose research View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

February 7, 2013
Other Article

Is Doing Good ‘Good Enough’?: Unleashing the Power of Self-Interest in Philanthropy

By: Josh Baron

To take advantage of the unprecedented opportunities for philanthropy to make a difference in society, we have to encourage people to think more consciously and creatively about: "What's in this for me?" View Details

Keywords: Motivation and Incentives; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving

September 2022
Article

Drivers of Philanthropic Foundations in Emerging Markets: Family, Values and Spirituality

By: Valeria Giacomin and Geoffrey Jones

This article discusses the ethics and drivers of philanthropic foundations in emerging markets. A foundation organizes assets to invest in philanthropic initiatives. Previous scholarship has largely focused on developed countries, especially the United States, and has... View Details

Keywords: Philanthropy; Foundations; Spirituality; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Social Enterprise; Emerging Markets; Values and Beliefs; Africa; Asia; Latin America; Middle East

2013
Working Paper

Punctuated Generosity: How Mega-events and Natural Disasters Affect Corporate Philanthropy in U.S. Communities

By: Andras Tilcsik and Christopher Marquis

This article focuses on geographic communities as fields in which human-made and natural events occasionally disrupt the lives of organizations. We develop an institutional perspective to unpack how and why major events within communities affect organizations in the... View Details

Keywords: Natural Disasters; Situation or Environment; Balance and Stability; Organizations; Business and Community Relations; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; United States

SSRN

March 2013
Article

Punctuated Generosity: How Mega-events and Natural Disasters Affect Corporate Philanthropy in U.S. Communities

By: Andras Tilcsik and Christopher Marquis

Geographic communities have been shown to affect organizations through their enduring features, but less attention has been given to communities as sites of human-made and natural events that occasionally disrupt the lives of organizations. We develop a... View Details

Keywords: Geographic Communities; Punctuated Equilibrium; Corporate Social Responsibility; Institutional Theory; Natural Disasters; Situation or Environment; Balance and Stability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Community Relations; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; United States

15 Jun 2021
News

Alumni Work to Reverse Bias Through Philanthropy

hard—urgent calls for a long-overdue racial reckoning are inspiring innovative approaches to exposing and ending structural inequities in business and society. Two new ventures led by HBS alumni are... View Details

Keywords: Deborah Blagg

Web

Planned Giving - Alumni

Giving Planned Giving Giving Planned Giving Leave a Legacy Through planned giving, you can use a variety of strategies View Details

March 2022
Article

When Less Is More: Consumers Prefer Brands that Donate More in Relative versus Absolute Terms

By: Elizabeth A. Keenan, Anne V. Wilson and Leslie K. John

When trying to make a good impression on consumers through charitable giving, is it better for brands to maximize the overall dollars they donate or how much they give in relative terms; for example, the proportion of profits? Across five studies we show that consumers... View Details

Keywords: Cause-related Marketing; Charitable Donations; Generosity; Altruism; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Brands and Branding; Consumer Behavior