Getting Smart About Philanthropy

01 Mar 2013

Getting Smart About Philanthropy

Re: Rich Atlas (MBA 1968); Tom Tierney (MBA 1980); Josh Bekenstein (MBA 1984); Bill Draper (MBA 1954); George Kaiser (MBA 1966); Henry McCance (MBA 1966)

Topics: Education-Business Education Education-Business Education Philanthropy-General Technology-Web Sites

Seven HBS alumni are among more than 50 philanthropic leaders who share their strategic thinking, insights, and wisdom in a unique set of video interviews being showcased on the new GiveSmart.org website.

The "Conversations with Remarkable Givers" series was created by The Bridgespan Group, a nonprofit adviser for mission-driven organizations. "Never before has there been, in one place, such an extensive set of conversations with people who are helping shape 21st-century philanthropy trends," says Bridgespan cofounder and chairman Thomas Tierney (MBA 1980), who also serves as chair of the School's Social Enterprise Initiative Advisory Board.

Among those included in the video series are HBS alumni Richard Atlas (MBA 1968), Josh Bekenstein (MBA 1984), Bill Draper (MBA 1954), George Kaiser (MBA 1966), Henry McCance (MBA 1966), and John Whitehead (MBA 1947), chair emeritus of the SEI Advisory Board. Ted Turner, Eli Broad, Pierre Omidyar, Michael J. Fox and Deborah W. Brooks, Jennifer and Peter Buffett, Melinda Gates, and Jean and Steve Case also participated.

In tandem with the project, Bridgespan has teamed up with Harvard Business Review to launch the Insight Center on Scaling Social Impact, a three-month-long online series at www.HBR.org that will feature the latest thinking on social enterprise through blogs, articles, and webinars from global leaders in the field. In January, HBS senior lecturer Michael Chu hosted the kick-off webinar, speaking on the role of profit in scaling social impact.