“UNTRADITIONAL PHILANTHROPY” REIMAGINES CHARITABLE GIVING AND IMPACT
Social Impact Leaders + Experts Worldwide Unite To Help Rewrite Philanthropic Playbook
[Washington, DC – October 18, 2022] Social impact organizations, nonprofit professionals, and activists have taken to social media to celebrate the launch of Untraditional Philanthropy, a new donor advisory with a radical approach to increasing the impact of charitable contributions. Founded by Chandler Arnold, Untraditional Philanthropy’s unique model makes it the only advisory of its kind to incorporate one-on-one one guidance from a consortium of proven social impact leaders and subject area experts. More than 85% of these experienced impact professionals identify as people of color, women and/or members of the LGBTQ+ community – significantly higher than traditional representation levels in the philanthropic and impact advisory sectors and appropriately in keeping with its ‘untraditional’ moniker.
Quote from Founder, Chandler Arnold:
“Twenty-five years of leading successful social impact work has given me the opportunity to develop a few ‘radical’ beliefs that really shouldn’t be radical at all,” Arnold says. “Charitable donations should flow to individuals and organizations doing the best impact work; not necessarily those we’ve heard the most about. It’s also time for the philanthropic world to redefine the power dynamics between funders and those they fund to increase trust, inspire candor, and—most importantly—drive greater impact. It is also critical we center women, POC, queer and other social change leaders who have been excluded from these decision-making processes for too long.”
A radical idea: Leveraging insights from proven social entrepreneurs to guide donor decisions. Arnold has designed and implemented social impact initiatives for some of the country’s wealthiest families as well as many Fortune 500 companies including Disney, Target, Ford, Ralph Lauren, KPMG, and others. Catalyzed by these experiences, Untraditional Philanthropy is grounded in his belief that the people best positioned to help donors identify and structure nonprofit gifts are those already running successful social impact initiatives or nonprofits themselves. In additional to partnering with lawyers, accountants, and wealth advisors, Untraditional Philanthropy has also created a consortium of more than 40 nonprofit leaders and subject area experts to help donors best identify, fund, and scale their gifts. One member of Untraditional Philanthropy’s extensive advisory network is Abby Falik, founder of Global Citizen Year, and recipient of a $12M gift from billionaire philanthropist Mackenzie Scott.
Quote from Expert, Abby Falik
“I am proud to serve as subject matter expert to Untraditional Philanthropy because I know this effort offers unique value to donors, advisors, and social entrepreneurs,” said Falik. “As a social entrepreneur who has been fortunate enough to work with some of the world’s most generous donors, I am excited about what Chandler has built. We really can’t afford not to rethink philanthropy in these ways... and Chandler does so with passion, inclusivity, and grace.”
—Abby Falik, Founder of Global Citizen Year
Additional subject matter experts in the network include CEOs, founders, and other senior leaders from sector-leading organizations worldwide. Among these are Alix Guerrier (CEO of DonorsChoose), Dr. Katharine Wilkinson (Founding Executive Director of The All We Can Save Project), John Spears (COO of the ONE Campaign), Priti Krishtel (Co-Founder of I-MAK), Chris Hobbs (COO of Arabella Advisors), Christine Platt (Author and Climate Change Advocate), Muneer Panjawani (Leadership Team of The Trevor Project), and more than 30 others.
Increasing candor: Building authentic relationships between funders and social entrepreneurs. Arnold believes donations work best when donors do more than simply writing a check. “I have seen firsthand the magic that happens when philanthropists connect with the right social impact leader and develop a trusting, candid relationship,” he said. “Take a tech-entrepreneur-turned-philanthropist who makes unrestricted financial gift and also advises the nonprofit’s CTO on a quarterly basis. The value of this guidance, sounding board, and connections could easily exceed the amount of funds donated. And the more candid these relationships are, the easier it is to talk about not only what is working but about what is not working as well. And THAT is where the magic happens; there are so many different examples in this category.”
Size doesn’t matter: Focusing on proven leadership teams and impact models rather than gift size. While Untraditional Philanthropy already advises individuals with hundreds of millions of dollars, Arnold’s experiences have also taught him that impact isn’t solely determined by the amount of the donation. Instead, he argues, effective philanthropy has more to do with how and to whom you give rather than how much you give. Well-meaning individuals can donate millions of dollars to causes without moving the needle on impact while smaller, strategic donations can lead to wide-ranging positive and impactful results. Untraditional Philanthropy focuses on the latter by helping donors drive the most impact possible out of each dollar donated. This often means taking time to invest in leaders whom donors trust and then facilitating general operating gifts allowing these leaders the freedom to do what they do best.
An idea whose time has come: Reimagining philanthropy is possible and urgent. Untraditional Philanthropy reinforces the notion that there is an urgent need to reimagine what are, in many cases, centuries-old philanthropic approaches. “From addressing the global pandemic recovery to supporting economic justice to mitigating the climate crisis, we are constantly reminded of the need to evolve and elevate our approach to this work,” says Arnold. “It has become impossible to ignore that we need an untraditional approach to philanthropy, and we need it now. We used to say that the future hangs in the balance. Today, the present does, too.”
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ABOUT UNTRADITIONAL PHILANTHROPY. Untraditional Philanthropy works with individuals, families, foundations—and their advisors—to dramatically increase philanthropic impact through a series of 'radical' philosophies that really shouldn’t be radical at all. Untraditional Philanthropy is also the only advisory of its kind to bring together a consortium 40 nonprofit leaders, subject area experts, and social entrepreneurs offering one-on-one guidance to its clients. Chandler Arnold founded Untraditional Philanthropy after spending 25 years leading successful social change efforts at the local, national, and global levels, including overseeing the distribution of more than 165 million new books to children in need as the COO of First Book. He’s also developed award-winning social impact initiatives with some of the country’s strongest brands and most generous families.
INTERVIEW OPPORTUNITIES WITH EXPERTS. Interview opportunities with Untraditional Philanthropy subject area experts can be arranged upon request, pending availability.