The commercial advised funds do check to make sure grantees are legitimate nonprofits, but as for the rest, the commercials emphasize that they will follow the donor's lead on where to send the money. Proliferation of philanthropic advisors. To keep up with constantly changing rules of the game, conferences like the annual Heckerling Institute provide continuing education. Jeff Shields, manager of professional services for the Peninsula Community Foundation in San Mateo, California, sees this as a positive development, with advantages to both client and advisor. There are so many people who want to give and are looking for help in finding the best way to give.
Venture philanthropy wants to understand where the money is going.
That's what will be exciting about the next century's philanthropy-it's an engaged, passionate, entrepreneurial culture. Israel became an independent state just a year before the Council on Foundations began. And, parallel to the growth of giving through foundations, there's been a marked increase in Jewish American philanthropy. Not all of the billions of dollars raised from American Jews have gone overseas to Israel, but support of Israel has been the emotional driving force that has elevated Jewish philanthropy into the top ranks of broad-based fundraising appeals, alongside the United Way and the Red Cross. More recently, Jewish donors have been directing very large amounts not to Israel but to combat the erosion of Jewish identity in the United States.