Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen Quotes

In philanthropy, many of us give a little bit and each year we give more and more to see what actually works and not just throw money out there and see if it's going to work. If the government did the same thing, fabulous.

Billions are wasted on ineffective philanthropy. Philanthropy is decades behind business in applying rigorous thinking to the use of money.

Instead of waiting until the holiday season - when mail solicitations flood in from worthy organizations - and making a flurry of gifts because this is the time of year to give, sit down and take stock. Identify your passion, learn about it, and direct your time, mind, and dollars to aligned causes and organizations.

Effective philanthropy requires a lot of time and creativity - the same kind of focus and skills that building a business requires.

It was only in 2001 that I set up a foundation, Arghyam. That was pretty much to learn the ropes of how to give, what to do.

There are three lessons in philanthropy - one, involve the family, especially the spouse. She can be a remarkable driver of your initiative. Two, you need to build an institution, and you need to scale it up. Choose a leader for philanthropy whom you trust. Three, philanthropy needs patience, tenacity and time.

Shouldn't you put the same amount of effort into your giving as you might for your for-profit investments? After all, philanthropy is an investment, and one in which lives - not profits - are at stake.

We went around and looked and talked to a lot of foundations with those charities and decided upon the Children's Hospital. They had a golf tournament at the time, but it was a small event that didn't raise a significant amount of money.

I don't know if people understand that there are different ways to raise money for great causes.

The major challenge facing most foundations is that they are risk averse. This inhibits their ability to experiment and commit to the experimentation and innovation process.

When people make donations to non profits, they want to know that their money goes to good use.

But charity is a very complicated thing. It's important to find an area where you can really help and you can feel the results. Charity is not like feeding pigeons in the square. It is a process that requires professional management.

There is a natural link between the effective running of my businesses and the effective direction of philanthropic funds. I apply business principles to my philanthropic work so that maximum value is given to the causes I support.

Philanthropy is no longer about writing a check for $10,000 to the opera.

When I started teaching at Stanford Graduate School of Business in 2000, no field-based courses in strategic philanthropy existed.

It is important to view philanthropic ventures with an eye for business.

I have a philanthropy advisor, Hari Menon, who was earlier at the Gates Foundation.

The goal of the program, called Giving With Purpose, is to teach college students - and anyone else who cares to register - how to beneficially contribute to charity. That's not necessarily easy. There are IRS rules for giving that must be learned, and there is wayward, wasteful philanthropy to be avoided.

I think philanthropy is also growing and catching on. Figuring out how the philanthropy sector, which is quite small compared to the private sector, which is the biggest by far, and then the governments, you know, even in these poor countries over time has to take on these key responsibilities. How does philanthropy accelerate that? Drive the kind of innovations, make sure they get used well. So it plays this kind of special role.

Charitable giving is a huge sector in the United States. It amounts to $350 billion a year. And yet, I can't help feeling that a lot of that is wasted because people have not been thinking about how to do it as effectively as possible.

Successful charitable fund-raising has much in common with managing a business: It requires leadership, persistence, and creativity.

Charity only works when smart, innovative, compassionate people in the field are supported from home. The World of Children Award raises money and visibility for change makers, people doing the real work. We are a conduit for funding and resources only; all of our operating costs are covered by our generous board of governors.

Proactive giving is what you do when you've found your passion. It expresses your values, interests and concerns. It engages not just your dollars, but also your mind, time, skills and networks - the philanthropic equivalent of leaning in, rather than leaning back. Most importantly, proactive giving is something you want to do.

Philanthropic humility is necessary if a giver is to do more good than harm, but it is not sufficient - philanthropic prudence is also needed.

I think all philanthropy invests in product innovation, whether in a vaccine or a new kind of product of one sort or another, and I think we'll all continue to do that.