The Chronicle of Philanthropy recently hosted a mock trial on whether foundations are really fulfilling their mission of "advancing the common good".  As described by Caroline Preston, the foundations essentially lost (officially it was a hung jury), with 10 audience members voting that "philanthropy was guilty of falling short of its mission" and two dissenting. 

It’d be fair to say Bill Gates and Warren Buffett make up the Dynamic Duo of the philanthropy world.  Much like Batman and Robin, Gates and Buffett seem to be able to surprise the world when we least expect it, fighting social problems for the greater good with their immense wealth.  They have quickly and smartly realized that with wealth comes power, and with power comes responsibility.  More than ever before, the public is looking to the world’s elite to solve social problems because they have the means to scale social efforts with Batmobile-like speed.

Here’s a challenge: next time you are on an international flight, grab the in-flight magazine and see if you can find an advertisement from a European or Asian country touting their ideal conditions for setting up a business.  Many of the advertisements discuss in great detail their pro-business policies and highly educated workforce as well as the necessary infrastructure to make your overseas enterprise successful. 

"We just met with a foundation the other day, and that's what piqued their interest — the outcomes. A lot of donors are saying, 'If you can't show me the difference my dollar makes, I'm probably not going to give you that next year.' " - Joshua Hale, Big Shoulders Fund Executive Director "...over the years there's been an increase in requests to understand the tangible outcomes. Now [donors] say, 'Give me a specific story, give me a quantitative result.' " - Lorrie Lynn, United Way Director of Research, Planning and Education

Thomas Siebel, founder of Siebel Systems, Inc., achieved significant results when he decided to take a stand against methamphetamine ("meth") abuse in Montana a few years ago.  Investing several million dollars in media campaigns, Siebel dramatically improved the state's ranking among U.S. states in terms of meth abuse—moving from 5th to 39th—and more than tripled the percent of Montana teens who are aware of the dangers of meth—shifting that number from 25% to 93%.

A pair of studies conducted the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy shows the incredible impact which can be generated through advocacy and policy work. The studies, part of the Grantmaking for Community Impact Project and described here by Philanthropy Journal's Todd Cohen found that "Thirteen groups that work with underrepresented constituencies in North Carolina received $20.4 million from 2003 through 2007 to support advocacy and community organizing, an investment that generated benefits worth over $1.8 billion."  As Cohen points out, that's $89 in benefits for every $1 invested.  In New Mexico, the figure was nearly twice that.