Effectiveness, Efficiency and Accountability in Philanthropy: What Lessons can be Learned from the Corporate World?

This volume collects the insights of the Management Symposium on "Effectiveness, Efficiency and Accountability in Philanthropy - What Lessons can be Learned from the Corporate World?" which was held in spring 2005. It both includes contributions by individual speakers as well as an edited summary essay of the argument made. The contributions explore the role of foundations in society and their interaction with other sectors, strategic marketing and planning, entrepreneurial approaches, controlling and quality management, as well as evaluation and sustainability considerations. This book offers thoughts and tools for high-impact philanthropy and shows that management in philanthropy can indeed learn from the corporate world, the lack of a bottom line notwithstanding. However, the corporate world can learn from philanthropy how to manage under conditions of uncertainty and nontransparent "markets". Whatever philanthropic institutions do, they will be held accountable in public for effective contributions to the public good.