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A “theory of philanthropy"; spells out a foundation’s overall approach to achieving the outcomes that are referenced in its mission and vision. It describes the different ways that the foundation uses its resources and the roles it plays when engaging with grantees and partners. While new strategic plans should be developed every 4-7 years, a foundation’s theory of philanthropy provides a more stable description of how it operates and the assumptions that underlie its approach.

Most foundations have an implicit theory of philanthropy. As Patton, Foote and Radner describe, bringing assumptions to the surface and testing them against the foundation’s actual behavior allows for the sort of alignment that leads to effective philanthropy.

Doug has worked with the CEOs of Anchorum Health Foundation, 1889 Foundation and Kansas Health Foundation to develop theories of philanthropy that have become the grounding framework in developing and implementing specific strategies.

The theory of philanthropy can also be translated into externally oriented descriptions of the foundation’s approach (see the 1889 Foundation website for example). This helps builds more accurate expectations among nonprofits and other groups that think they want to work with the foundation.

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Place-based philanthropy deploys a comprehensive set of supports in defined communities as a means of achieving population-level outcomes and community-wide change. The challenge for place-based foundations is to use their resources and influence wisely so that the work is both effective and reflective of local priorities.

Doug has been a leader in developing and testing the “cultivation” model of place-based philanthropy. He worked closely with program directors at both Kate B. Reynolds Charitable Trust and the Colorado Health Foundation in the design of their place-based
approaches. And then shifted to an implementation coach role as foundation staff engaged with local actors and supported promising ideas. He also partnered with the external evaluators of both initiatives in developing and carrying out methods to answer the foundation’s learning questions.

Doug has also served as an advisor to other foundations that have pursued place-based strategies (e.g., The Ford Family Foundation) and has been a leader in the cross-foundation learning initiative, Making Space for Place.

He is available to assist other foundations interested in developing place-based strategies that address the needs and interests of the communities they serve, and that fit with their own theory of philanthropy.

Periodic strategic planning exercises allow a foundation to reset their priorities and approaches to reflect changes in the external environment, the rise of new health challenges and lessons the foundation has learned about how it can be most effective.

A good strategic plan sets ambitious yet attainable goals, identifies leverage points that the foundation can affect in order to produce real change, and names a limited number of ways that the foundation will use its resources to take advantage of those leverage
points.

Strategic planning is one of the critical functions of a foundation’s board of directors. At the same time, foundation staff have knowledge and perspectives that are valuable in ensuring that the strategic plan will be well grounded and take full advantage of the
foundation’s assets and connections. Bringing together a foundation’s board and staff in a single process of strategic planning is both important and challenging.

Doug has designed and facilitated strategic planning processes both as an employee of the foundation (The Colorado Trust) and as an external consultant (1889 Foundation, Health Forward). Beyond this experience with foundations, Doug also designed and facilitated the strategic planning process that the CEO of Atrium Health Wake Forest Baptist convened to develop strategies to advance racial equity in the aftermath of
George Floyd’s murder in 2020.

Building on his extensive history in philanthropy and the many articles he has published, Doug can orient and educate foundation boards on a wide variety of topics (e.g., strategic philanthropy, evaluation, place-based philanthropy, models of grantmaking,
health conversion foundations, leadership roles for foundations). These presentations can range from a 1-hour overview of a specific topic to a series of sessions within a 2-day retreat. In either case, he welcomes extensive interaction with board members and seeks to address the specific interests they bring to the session.

Doug has done sessions along these lines with the boards of over a dozen foundations, half of which delved into the findings of the 2016 study of health conversion foundations. He also has considerable experience meeting with boards to discuss the findings of research he has conducted for the foundation on its own strategy.

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