Publications

November–December 1999
Article

Philanthropy's New Agenda: Creating Value

By: Michael E. Porter and Mark R. Kramer

Keywords: Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Value

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02 Jun 2008
Research & Ideas

Spending on Happiness

Can money buy you happiness? Yes—so long as you spend the money on someone else. According to new research, giving other people even as little as $5 can lead to increased well-being for the giver. That's the insight into the secret of... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert

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

2007
Report

From Insight to Action: New Directions in Foundation Evaluation

By: Mark R. Kramer, Rebecca W. Graves, Jason Hirschhorn and Leigh Fiske

The field of philanthropy is undergoing a fundamental transition and is moving toward more performance-centered and forward-looking evaluation approaches that provide foundations and grantees with timely information and actionable insights. Based on nearly 100... View Details

Keywords: Foundation Evaluation; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Performance Evaluation

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November 2002 (Revised January 2003)
Case

SBC Foundation, The

By: Diana Barrett, Sarah Aaron and Cassandra Hanley

Examines the role of the corporation as it makes philanthropic donations. Questions raised include the connection between corporate strategy and giving, the degree to which grant making should be decentralized, and the size and focus of grants. View Details

Keywords: Corporate Strategy; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving

February 2011
Article

It's the Recipient That Counts: Spending Money on Strong Social Ties Leads to Greater Happiness Than Spending on Weak Social Ties

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

Previous research has shown that spending money on others (prosocial spending) increases happiness. But, do the happiness gains depend on who the money is spent on? Sociologists have distinguished between strong ties with close friends and family and weak... View Details

Keywords: Happiness; Relationships; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving

2016
Working Paper

Market Design for Altruistic Supply: Evidence from the Lab

By: Robert Slonim and Carmen Wang

Volunteer supply is widespread. Yet without a price, inefficiencies occur due to suppliers’ inability to coordinate with each other and with demand. In these contexts, we propose a market clearinghouse mechanism that improves efficiency if supply is altruistically... View Details

Keywords: Laboratory Experiments; Volunteering; Public Goods Provision; Market Design; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Economics

SSRN

October 2000
Case

New Schools Venture Fund

By: Jeffrey L. Bradach and Nicole Tempest

A new approach to philanthropy, led by venture capitalists and the "new wealth" has emerged in the last two years. They are applying the same accountability criteria from results as they would with their investment portfolio. View Details

Keywords: Venture Capital; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving

Educators

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

January 10, 2022
Article

The Link Between Income, Income Inequality, and Prosocial Behavior Around the World: A Multiverse Approach

By: Lucia Macchia and Ashley V. Whillans

The questions of whether high-income individuals are more prosocial than low-income individuals and whether income inequality moderates this effect have received extensive attention. We shed new light on this topic by analyzing a large-scale dataset with a... View Details

Keywords: Prosocial Behavior; Income Inequality; Behavior; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Income

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

2010
Chapter

New Sources in Living Kidney Donation

By: Ruthanne L. Hanto, Alvin E. Roth, M. Utku Ünver and Francis L. Delmonico

Keywords: Health Care and Treatment; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Health Industry

2022
Book

Leadership to Last: How Great Leaders Leave Legacies Behind

By: Geoffrey Jones and Tarun Khanna

Society tends to glorify the get-rich-quick entrepreneur who builds a company, takes it public and then (maybe) contributes to charity. In Leadership to Last, Geoffrey Jones and Tarun Khanna discuss the interviews they and other Harvard faculty have undertaken... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Corruption; Gender; Innovation and Invention; Leadership; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Society; India; Pakistan; Bangladesh; Middle East; Africa; Latin America; Philippines

December 2017
Case

Charity or Bribery?

By: Eugene Soltes and Brian Tilley

Filip Kowalski, a senior manager at the pharmaceutical company Healthgen, leads sales for the firm’s Polish division. While pitching Healthgen’s products, he develops a relationship with a director of a regional health fund who also runs a private foundation. After a... View Details

Keywords: Bribery; Crime and Corruption; Law; Ethics; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; United States; Europe

Educators

December 2007
Case

Akshaya Patra: Feeding India's Schoolchildren

By: David M. Upton, Christine Ellis, Sarah Lucas and Amy Yamner

Describes a highly successful effort by an Indian Charity to feed poor schoolchildren at lunchtime. This provides two significant benefits. It improves nutrition for the children, and helps keep them in school since the provided meal is occasionally the only meal they... View Details

Keywords: Food; Service Operations; Education; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Food and Beverage Industry; India

Educators

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