Helping major donors give more strategically

October 21, 8:17 AMSF Nonprofit Business ExaminerMaureen Futtner

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Sean Stannard-Stockton
TPA

While philanthropists continue to nurse battered endowments, the nonprofit sector is hoping to see a new, bold giving emerge from the great recession’s ashes. Enter Sean Stannard-Stockton’s Tactical Philanthropy Advisors, which launched in August. If Stannard-Stockton’s firm isn’t exactly charity’s phoenix, it’s close. And in true Silicon Valley style (the group is headquartered in Burlingame), TPA is unafraid of shaking things up and even might be called “disruptive.”

TPA aims to help donors with assets between $1 million and $50 million to create results-oriented planning for their charitable giving. “Major donors already seek out professional advisors to help them with their financial accounts, their tax planning, their business planning and legal issues,” said Stannard-Stockton. “We offer a similar advisory role for donors who do not want to ‘outsource’ their giving.” TPA helps donors maximize their impact by providing them an expert guide in the field of philanthropy.

The firm analyzes donor’s current giving, bringing it more in line with the values and concerns of the donor. Together with the client, TPA then creates a plan for what kind of impact the donor wants their money to have on their priority issues, improving their overall approach to charity.

Stannard-Stockton points out that, with boomers starting to retire, there is a large increase in giving as this generation turns from the life stage of wealth-accumulation to spending. "Individual donors give $250 billion a year to charity, making up 82% of all charitable giving. A growing number of these donors want to be sure that their philanthropy is actually making a difference."

JOY CREATIVITY INNOVATION
“We will help donors make a bigger social impact from their giving, but also draw more joy out of what they can accomplish with their donations,” notes Stannard-Stockton. Certainly “joy,” “creativity,” and “innovation” are not terms immediately associated with philanthropy, but TPA is on its way to developing a new language for individual donor giving.

Teaming up with Bill Somerville, author of Grassroots Philanthropy and a major innovator of low-bureaucracy grantmaking, TPA has committed to support the work of Somerville’s Philanthropic Ventures Foundation. Philanthropic Ventures is a public charity that helps donors of all levels of wealth to engage in creative giving. Stannard-Stockton and Somerville see an opportunity to push the culture of philanthropy towards greater accountability and less bureaucracy—satisfying both donors concerned with impact, and nonprofits concerned with onerous reporting requirements for donations.

DISRUPTIVE
Stannard-Stockton’s blog hosts ongoing debates about the nature of nonprofit accountability and efficiency, as well as tips and ideas for improving approaches to nonprofit fundraising.

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