Philanthropy Course

Lesson 1 • Core Values and Ethical Principles

Introduces the values—equity, accountability, and stewardship—that guide ethical giving. Provides a normative lens applied throughout the course.

Lesson 2 • Defining Philanthropy and Its Scope

Examines the meaning of philanthropy, distinguishing it from charity, aid, and social investment. Anchors the chapter by establishing shared vocabulary for all subsequent topics.

Lesson 3 • Key Actors in the Philanthropic Ecosystem

Maps donors, foundations, nonprofits, and intermediaries and their interdependencies. Students gain a systems view essential for understanding later strategic content.

Lesson 4 • Motivations Behind Philanthropic Action

Analyzes psychological, social, and values-based drivers of giving behavior. Understanding motivation informs donor engagement strategies covered in later chapters.

Lesson 1 • Governance and Board Responsibilities

Defines fiduciary duties of nonprofit boards and governance best practices. Strong governance underpins the accountability principles introduced in Chapter 1.

Lesson 2 • Regulatory Compliance and Reporting

Outlines mandatory disclosures, annual filings, and regulatory oversight mechanisms. Students learn to maintain compliance as a foundation for organizational credibility.

Lesson 3 • International Philanthropic Regulations

Addresses cross-border giving rules, anti-money-laundering requirements, and equivalency determinations. Prepares students for global grantmaking covered in advanced chapters.

Lesson 4 • Nonprofit Legal Structures

Covers the primary organizational forms available to philanthropic entities and their governance implications. Establishes the legal baseline for all operational decisions.

Lesson 1 • Community Foundations and Collective Giving

Explores community foundations, giving circles, and pooled funds as vehicles for collective impact. Demonstrates how aggregated resources amplify philanthropic reach.

Lesson 2 • Private Foundations

Details the formation, governance, and operational rules of private foundations. Provides the structural knowledge needed to evaluate foundations as a giving vehicle.

Lesson 3 • Corporate Giving Programs

Analyzes corporate foundations, matching gift programs, and cause-related marketing. Students understand how corporate philanthropy differs from individual giving.

Lesson 4 • Charitable Trusts and Planned Giving

Covers charitable remainder trusts, lead trusts, and bequests as long-term giving tools. Links estate planning to philanthropic strategy for major donors.

Lesson 1 • Developing a Philanthropic Strategy

Guides students through mission articulation, focus area selection, and theory of change development. Strategic clarity here drives all subsequent grantmaking decisions.

Lesson 2 • Grantee Relationships and Reporting

Establishes practices for ongoing grantee communication, progress reporting, and adaptive management. Strong relationships improve grant outcomes and organizational learning.

Lesson 3 • Grant Types and Funding Approaches

Compares project grants, general operating support, capacity-building grants, and multi-year funding. Students match grant types to strategic intent and grantee needs.

Lesson 4 • Solicitation and Application Processes

Covers letter-of-inquiry design, full proposal requirements, and due diligence procedures. Efficient solicitation processes reduce burden on grantees and improve decision quality.

Lesson 1 • Reading Nonprofit Financial Statements

Teaches interpretation of statements of financial position, activities, and cash flows. Financial literacy is prerequisite to the due diligence and risk assessment sections.

Lesson 2 • Financial Risk and Sustainability Assessment

Evaluates indicators of financial distress and long-term sustainability in grantee organizations. Enables funders to make proactive decisions about at-risk grantees.

Lesson 3 • Assessing Organizational Financial Health

Introduces liquidity ratios, reserve levels, and revenue diversification as health indicators. Students apply these metrics during grantee due diligence processes.

Lesson 4 • Budgeting and Financial Planning

Covers nonprofit budget structures, cash flow forecasting, and scenario planning. Funders who understand budgeting can better evaluate grant proposals and organizational capacity.

Lesson 1 • Data Collection Methods

Covers surveys, interviews, focus groups, administrative data, and observation techniques. Students match data collection methods to evaluation questions and resource constraints.

Lesson 2 • Learning Systems and Adaptive Management

Builds organizational routines for using evaluation data to improve strategy and grantmaking. Closes the feedback loop between measurement and philanthropic decision-making.

Lesson 3 • Foundations of Philanthropic Evaluation

Introduces evaluation purposes, types, and the logic model as a planning tool. Establishes the conceptual basis for all measurement and learning activities.

Lesson 4 • Attribution, Contribution, and Causality

Addresses the challenge of attributing social change to philanthropic investment. Students apply contribution analysis and comparison methods to strengthen causal claims.

Lesson 1 • Power Dynamics in Funder-Grantee Relationships

Analyzes structural power imbalances between funders and grantees and their consequences. Awareness of these dynamics is prerequisite to adopting equitable practices.

Lesson 2 • Trust-Based Philanthropy Principles

Covers the six core practices of trust-based philanthropy, including multi-year unrestricted funding. Students evaluate their own grantmaking against trust-based standards.

Lesson 3 • Community-Led and Participatory Grantmaking

Examines models where communities define priorities and make funding decisions. Participatory approaches operationalize equity principles in grantmaking practice.

Lesson 4 • Organizational Culture and Internal Equity

Addresses equity within philanthropic organizations—staffing, compensation, and culture. Internal equity practices reinforce external equity commitments and organizational credibility.

Lesson 1 • Policy Advocacy and Systems-Level Change

Covers permissible advocacy, lobbying limits, and policy change as a philanthropic strategy. Students integrate policy engagement into a comprehensive systems-change portfolio.

Lesson 2 • Collective Impact and Field Building

Examines collective impact frameworks and funder roles in building and sustaining fields. Students design backbone support and coordination strategies for multi-actor initiatives.

Lesson 3 • Systems Thinking for Philanthropists

Introduces systems thinking concepts—feedback loops, leverage points, and emergence—applied to social change. Systems literacy enables more sophisticated philanthropic strategy design.

Lesson 4 • Mission-Related and Impact Investing

Introduces program-related investments, mission-related investments, and ESG alignment. Students integrate investment tools with grantmaking for a whole-portfolio approach.