Transcript Apple Presentation Template Supplement

High impact
philanthropy
Steve Kirsch
www.kirschfoundation.org
Agenda
• About our foundation
• Why give
• 13 guiding principles for high impact
philanthropy
What is the Kirsch Foundation?
• 501(c)3 CFSV supporting organization
• $13M in assets
• Give $3M+/year, 100+ grants, 5 FT staff
• Goals: ensure world safety, cure all major diseases,
restore the environment, improve politics, reform
education, support the local community, encourage
philanthropy
• Treat the cause, not the symptom
• Wide range of activities: clean air legislation (ZEV, CO2,
RPS), nuclear disarmament, SORT treaty, NEOS, hair
loss, diabetes, glaucoma, SCNT advocacy, campaign
finance reform, …
Agenda
• About our foundation
• Why give
• 13 guiding principles for high impact
philanthropy
Why give?
• Enlightened self-interest
-To benefit everyone (including ourselves)
-To achieve certain goals we think are important
to make the world a better place
• Ideal investment is both
- High leverage (ROI) and
- High impact
• Example: NEOS research
• Occasional fringe benefits: I get the first call!
The best things in life
aren’t all that expensive
• House
• Car
• Vacations
• Subscription to Fortune
• Replay/Tivo box
• Private jet
• Assets for guaranteed income for rest of your life
So now what?
So we had a choice...
• Sit on our assets
or
• Put those assets to work in a way that will
benefit:
- ourselves
- our kids
- future generations of our family
- our friends and community
Agenda
• About our foundation
• Why give
• 13 guiding principles for high impact
philanthropy
#1: Diversify your
endowment
• To have high impact, you must first ensure
your longevity
• Many burned by investing large part of
endowment in high tech
#2: Look for market
opportunities
• Finding and funding the “gaps” (worthwhile projects
that don’t have funding) can be very rewarding
• Do your homework. Abundant new opportunities
worldwide for high ROI:
- Gates: Vaccinations
- Funding campaign finance reform
- NEOS
- CFC: Collaboration in medical research between
researchers in different fields on a single project
- Hair loss research
#3: Be strategic, not
reactive
• Decide on a vision you are passionate about
-“Restore the environment”
• Decide on a top goal
- “Get California air quality into compliance with state
and federal standards by 2030”
• Figure out what strategies you will use to achieve
the goal
Higher CAFE standards
California CO2 standards
Incentives for commercialization of H2 FCV technology
RPS legislation
Congressional commitment behind a business plan for
reducing our oil dependence
-
#4: Get involved in
influencing public policy
• I spend 90% of my time on public policy
• All your hard work may be inconsequential
•
•
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otherwise
Often well-funded commercial special interest(s) in
opposition
Hard, time consuming, easy to waste money
Hiring lobbyist seldom the best approach; better is
to connect with a successful collaboration and learn
Breakthroughs are worth waiting for, e.g.,
recognition of the lack of any long term goals
Can be very frustrating… 100 Nobel winners say
“SCNT is good,” but Congress may criminalize it
Methods of influencing
public policy
• Personally lobby via e-mail, phone, face-to-face
• Foundation is a 501(c)(3) so staff can lobby
• Establish a 501(c)(4) entity for going beyond fed limits
• Personally donate to candidates, parties, causes that will
advance your agenda
- Electing the right President may be
the single most cost-effective charitable
donation that you can make
• Lawsuits
• PR events, e.g., STOP
• Help them set goals
• Be specific:
-Here’s what I want you to do
-Here’s why you should care
My largest “charitable” grant recipient
#5: Encourage
connection
• We very seldom do anything “alone” anymore
• We collaborate with other organizations to:
- increase the amount of funding available
- disseminate our knowledge
- share our expertise
• We also encourage our grantees to work together:
- CAMR: 75+ organizations
- CFC (w/Glaucoma
Research Foundation):
$1.26M +
- E2, NRDC, UCS, …
- AC2 with Ploughshares Fund
- CHFB with 2 researchers
CFC researchers
#6: Leverage your
endowment
• Program Related Investments (PRIs) give you
a double-whammy impact:
- Best way to solve a “charitable” problem may
be commercial!
- Make money to use for the next problem
• Examples
#7: Invest in the best
• Goal = maximally leverage capital by making the
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best investment decisions
We publish our goals and grant criteria
Category
Grant spreadsheet: Analytical, but
very accurate
I. Project/Organization
Ensures we grant based on
A. Project Focus
competence
B. Cause vs. Symptom
C. Ability to Improve Quality of
Saves time for both parties
D. Past Results/Reputation
Tell people frankly why rejected.
E. Creativity
Holding back isn’t doing
F. Measurable Outcomes
anyone any favors.
II. Funding
#8: Be patient
• Don’t get discouraged if at first you don’t
succeed
• Significant change takes time
• The bigger the impact, the longer you should
expect it will take
#9: Make a long term
commitment
• If you are doing something meaningful, it
probably can’t be done overnight
• Without a long term commitment, grantees
will spend a lot of time fundraising
• Example: Medical research
- Researchers spend a significant fraction of
their time writing grant proposals
#10: Invest in people, not
projects
• Study those foundations that are the most
effective and copy what they do
• HHMI was our model for investment in
people, not projects
• Think of your charitable investment like a
stock market investment
- You don’t tell Bill Gates
which projects he
should pursue
#11: Stay focused
• Don’t try to do too much
• You will be much more efficient if you pick just
one important goal and nail it
• Example: Due to lack of funds and staff, we
put our medical science research grant
programs on hold
#12: Get personally
involved
• Visit grantees
• Phone calls, letters, e-mails to further a cause
• Walk the talk…
I drive a ZEV
• Stay informed
#13: Challenge yourself to
make the biggest difference
• You don’t have to follow my rules
• Challenge yourself to find the opportunities to make
the biggest difference
• Look at your results and challenge yourself:
- What did I learn?
- How could I have been more effective?
- Is my timing right?
- Should I be investing more today?
- Am I playing at a high enough level?
• Example:
- High impact causes are almost always played at the
federal level
Summary
• Be proactive, not reactive
• Get involved in the public sector
• Invest in the most competent people, not
projects
• Be patient and make a long-term commitment
• Encourage connection
• Challenge yourself to make the biggest
difference… are you playing at the right level?
Why don’t people give?
• Just earned it/want to enjoy it
• Risk averse; want to ensure lavish lifestyle for rest of life,
• Lack of understanding of enlightened self interest
• If I don’t, someone else will, so why should I?
• Focus: all cycles on growing business
• Greedy/ego: Measure self worth by net worth
• Lack of time
• Like writing your will or going to dentist; it’s good for you, but
low on the priority list
• Lack of knowledge of how to do it
• Never really thought of a cause that resonated
• Fear of making a mistake…”hit reply if you support clean air”
Why give young
• No tax advantages to
giving after you are dead
• No personal satisfaction
to giving after you are
dead
• Giving can ultimately
benefit you or your family
• Reduce current tax
burden
presbyopia
hair loss
sleep apnea
lactose intolerance
psoriasis
receding gums
near sighted
torn ACL
type I diabetes
macular degeneration
tinnitus
Example
• Ten years from now, you might be diagnosed
with:
- Heart disease/stroke
- Cancer
- ALS, Parkinson’s disease, …
• At that time, starting a giving plan will be too
late to have an impact on your health
• In hindsight, would you think keeping your
assets sitting in stocks was the right move?
“Why Give?” Summary
• We DO give
to make a
positive
difference in
our own
lives and the
lives of
people we
care about.
• We DO NOT give
-out of a sense of obligation
-payback
-civic duty
-because it is “the right thing to do”
-“to create a legacy”
-because it is fun
-because we have nothing else to do
-because we like to see our name in print
-to feed our ego
-to get our picture on the cover of Worth
-to win awards
-to win friends or social status (keep up w/Ken Lay)
-to atone for being wealthy
-to get invited to all the cool fundraisers
-to get preferred seating at fundraisers
-to avoid income tax
Motivation
•"I'm one of those guys who's made
a fortune at a young age and had
the foresight to figure out that
it's just a lot smarter to spend
that money on ensuring the world
is a better place than spending
it on vacations, jets, homes, and
expensive toys."
-- Steve Kirsch, chief
executive of Propel Inc.
Another viewpoint
•“what's wrong with jets,
vacations and a nice home?”
- Michele Kirsch