Giving Done Right: A Conversation with Phil Buchanan and Sampriti Ganguli
Recently, the Arabella Advisors DC office was happy to host Phil Buchanan, president of the Center of Effective Philanthropy, for an intimate discussion on the state of philanthropy and his new book, Giving Done Right. Phil was joined by our CEO, Sampriti Ganguli, and the conversation was moderated by one of our associate managing directors, Sarah Stremlau.
The video below includes a few minutes’ worth of choice clips that speak to the heart of Phil and Sampriti’s sentiments on key trends in philanthropy and how those in our sector can work together to turn ideas into impact and make every dollar count. A handful of favorite quotes we also overheard, but that aren’t on the video, are below.
- “[Philanthropy is] not about competitive dynamics, it’s about collaborative dynamics.” – Phil
- “I believe that donor collaboratives will continue to grow in scale, scope, impact, and potential. Part of the needed humility is avoiding the ‘go it alone’ approach.” – Sampriti
- “The nonprofit world can build greater trust by sharing more of its data sets and lifting up its stories of impact.” – Phil
- “We’re seeing energy focused on communities and their needs, from dual language learning to sustainable food to early childhood. These are the sorts of issues and stories of impact that need to be elevated.”- Sampriti
- “We need nonprofits rooted in their communities to do the work of creating impact—and we need philanthropy to support them. Sometimes the very best thing [donors] can do from an effectiveness standpoint is to stay out of the spotlight.” – Phil
Common themes for the evening included: the importance of listening and being humble, the need to elevate the excellent work done by frontline groups (and their funders!), and the potential to drive even greater impact by learning from what works in philanthropy in addition to criticizing what it gets wrong.
The team at Arabella Advisors is grateful to Phil Buchanan and to the many others from the larger philanthropy community who were able to join us for the evening. Phil’s book, Giving Done Right, is available online and in bookstores.