Bridgespan’s GiveSmart.org Is New Resource for Philanthropists

The Bridgespan Group rolled out a website in early April designed to help philanthropists make better decisions and get better results from their giving.

The new site, www.GiveSmart.org, is part of Bridgespan’s Give Smart philanthropy initiative, which is organized around six questions to help donors unlock the full potential of their philanthropy:

1. What are my values and beliefs?
2. What is “success” and how can it be achieved?
3. What am I accountable for?
4. What will it take to get the job done?
5. How do I work with grantees?
6. Am I getting better?

According to a Bridgespan statement, GiveSmart.org collects and shares effective practices, including case studies, practical how-to guides and other decision-making tools. It is part of a three-year grant from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation to develop and curate research and build tools, and to make those tools widely available, the statement said.

Bridgespan will contribute materials amassed from its 10 years of collaboration with philanthropists and foundations, as well as from outstanding leaders in the field including the Center for Effective Philanthropy, Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, the National Center for Family Philanthropy, The Philanthropic Initiative and the Philanthropy Roundtable.

 “In our decade of experience working with philanthropists, we’ve learned that a growing number are eager to raise the bar on their own performance,” Susan Wolf Ditkoff, a Bridgespan partner who is leading this effort, said in the statement. “They want help with questions that they care passionately about, and they want compelling examples of other philanthropists who have created real change.”