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Giving Done Right: Effective Philanthropy and Making Every Dollar Count
A practical guide to philanthropy at all levels of giving that seeks to educate and inspire
A majority of American households give to charity in some form or another--from local donations to food banks, religious organizations, or schools, to contributions to prevent disease or protect basic freedoms. Whether you're in a position to give $1 or $1 million, every giver needs to answer the same question: How do I channel my giving effectively to make the greatest difference?
In Giving Done Right, Phil Buchanan, the president of the Center for Effective Philanthropy, arms donors with what it takes to do more good more quickly and to avoid predictable errors that lead too many astray. This crucial book will reveal the secrets and lessons learned from some of the biggest givers, from the work of software entrepreneur Tim Gill and his foundation to expand rights for LGBTQ people to the efforts of a midwestern entrepreneur whose faith told him he must do something about childhood slavery in Ghana. It busts commonly held myths and challenging the idea that "business thinking" holds the answer to effective philanthropy. And it offers the intellectual frameworks, data-driven insights, tools, and practical examples to allow readers to understand exactly what it takes to make a difference.
A majority of American households give to charity in some form or another--from local donations to food banks, religious organizations, or schools, to contributions to prevent disease or protect basic freedoms. Whether you're in a position to give $1 or $1 million, every giver needs to answer the same question: How do I channel my giving effectively to make the greatest difference?
In Giving Done Right, Phil Buchanan, the president of the Center for Effective Philanthropy, arms donors with what it takes to do more good more quickly and to avoid predictable errors that lead too many astray. This crucial book will reveal the secrets and lessons learned from some of the biggest givers, from the work of software entrepreneur Tim Gill and his foundation to expand rights for LGBTQ people to the efforts of a midwestern entrepreneur whose faith told him he must do something about childhood slavery in Ghana. It busts commonly held myths and challenging the idea that "business thinking" holds the answer to effective philanthropy. And it offers the intellectual frameworks, data-driven insights, tools, and practical examples to allow readers to understand exactly what it takes to make a difference.
256 pages, Hardcover
First published April 16, 2019
53 people are currently reading
330 people want to read
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Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews
November 16, 2021
It is unusual for me to review a book that I did not finish, but I’m going to do so in this case. So, just keep in mind when reading the following that in all fairness to the author, I only read the first half of his book…
I do not really remember how “Giving Done Right” first hit my radar. I know that my wife and I try to be charitable – we are not wealthy philanthropists by any means, but we try to do our part. At the beginning of 2021, we were laying out a plan for our annual giving in the coming year, and I thought a book like Phil Buchanan’s might give us some good direction. Instead of just donating to opportunities as they arise, we wanted to be more intentional with our giving.
The description of this book both online and on the book jacket includes the statement “Whether you’re in a position to give $1 or $1 million, every giver needs to answer the same question: How do I channel my giving effectively to make the greatest difference?” That is exactly what I was looking for. However, my impression now is that that marketing pitch is not an accurate representation of the book.
In my assessment, this book is really aimed at an audience much closer to the $1 million end of that giving spectrum (or above) than it is the lower side. There are several times when Buchanan prefaces a piece of advice with phrases like “If you’re giving say $5,000 and above” (page 42) or “A giver can establish a DAF [donor-advised fund] with as little as $5,000” (page 45). If the conversation is beginning with donations of $5,000, I’m afraid we are already talking about a class of donors that are well above average. Furthermore, many if not all of Buchanan’s anecdotes come from similar positions of wealth. Some examples:
“Over time, Hackmann contributed more than $1 million to a large Christian nonprofit” (Page 58)
“…the objectives of their foundation, which makes several million in grants annually…” (Page 63)
“…the entrepreneur now has $500 million in assets and makes $20 million in grants annually across several areas.” (Page 84)
The above are just those stories about anonymous wealthy Americans that do not have much name recognition. These are in addition to lessons learned from Bill and Melinda Gates, John D Rockefeller, Mark Zuckerberg, and Warren Buffett.
The theory may go that the best practices learned through major philanthropy can be applied to any giving level. However, in many cases that is simply not true. When Buchanan writes about “productively engaging the organizations and other actors you need to work with to achieve your goal” (page 77) that kind of access and influence only comes with large dollar donations. So too, when Buchanan addresses how to evaluate the impact of one’s giving, unless you have hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars to give, your individual contribution is going to be so small that the individual impact will be impossible to register.
In the end, I’m not sure who the audience of this book was intended to be. I have made the case here that it is not relevant for most middle to upper-middle class people that can only afford to donate in the hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands range annually. Moreover, it is likely that anybody that has the big dollar gifts that Buchanan speaks of would hire a consultant or a foundation president to manage their giving, so I doubt they are reading a book like this either.
Maybe I missed out by not reading the second half of “Giving Done Right”. Considering the titles of the chapters I skipped included (in part) “Selecting and Working with Nonprofits”, “Assessing Performance”, and “Deploying All the Tools”…I can only imagine that it was going to be more of the same.
I do not really remember how “Giving Done Right” first hit my radar. I know that my wife and I try to be charitable – we are not wealthy philanthropists by any means, but we try to do our part. At the beginning of 2021, we were laying out a plan for our annual giving in the coming year, and I thought a book like Phil Buchanan’s might give us some good direction. Instead of just donating to opportunities as they arise, we wanted to be more intentional with our giving.
The description of this book both online and on the book jacket includes the statement “Whether you’re in a position to give $1 or $1 million, every giver needs to answer the same question: How do I channel my giving effectively to make the greatest difference?” That is exactly what I was looking for. However, my impression now is that that marketing pitch is not an accurate representation of the book.
In my assessment, this book is really aimed at an audience much closer to the $1 million end of that giving spectrum (or above) than it is the lower side. There are several times when Buchanan prefaces a piece of advice with phrases like “If you’re giving say $5,000 and above” (page 42) or “A giver can establish a DAF [donor-advised fund] with as little as $5,000” (page 45). If the conversation is beginning with donations of $5,000, I’m afraid we are already talking about a class of donors that are well above average. Furthermore, many if not all of Buchanan’s anecdotes come from similar positions of wealth. Some examples:
“Over time, Hackmann contributed more than $1 million to a large Christian nonprofit” (Page 58)
“…the objectives of their foundation, which makes several million in grants annually…” (Page 63)
“…the entrepreneur now has $500 million in assets and makes $20 million in grants annually across several areas.” (Page 84)
The above are just those stories about anonymous wealthy Americans that do not have much name recognition. These are in addition to lessons learned from Bill and Melinda Gates, John D Rockefeller, Mark Zuckerberg, and Warren Buffett.
The theory may go that the best practices learned through major philanthropy can be applied to any giving level. However, in many cases that is simply not true. When Buchanan writes about “productively engaging the organizations and other actors you need to work with to achieve your goal” (page 77) that kind of access and influence only comes with large dollar donations. So too, when Buchanan addresses how to evaluate the impact of one’s giving, unless you have hundreds of thousands if not millions of dollars to give, your individual contribution is going to be so small that the individual impact will be impossible to register.
In the end, I’m not sure who the audience of this book was intended to be. I have made the case here that it is not relevant for most middle to upper-middle class people that can only afford to donate in the hundreds, thousands, or even tens of thousands range annually. Moreover, it is likely that anybody that has the big dollar gifts that Buchanan speaks of would hire a consultant or a foundation president to manage their giving, so I doubt they are reading a book like this either.
Maybe I missed out by not reading the second half of “Giving Done Right”. Considering the titles of the chapters I skipped included (in part) “Selecting and Working with Nonprofits”, “Assessing Performance”, and “Deploying All the Tools”…I can only imagine that it was going to be more of the same.
May 30, 2019
Anyone who wants to know how to give effectively needs to read this.
November 5, 2019
This book helped me, as an individual small-scale giver, organize my thinking and crystallize my giving goals. Giving Done Right aims at small and large givers, as well as employees and executives of institutions whose focus is supporting non-profits.
The author is opinionated about what works and what doesn't work, takes to task some common misconceptions about non-profits, and ends each chapter with a review of material and takeaways - almost like a lecture series in a university-level class. There are some examples and personal stories, but they add a little extra flair instead of being overbearing and constituting the bulk of the material (as some other books on the topic that I liked much less were).
The author is opinionated about what works and what doesn't work, takes to task some common misconceptions about non-profits, and ends each chapter with a review of material and takeaways - almost like a lecture series in a university-level class. There are some examples and personal stories, but they add a little extra flair instead of being overbearing and constituting the bulk of the material (as some other books on the topic that I liked much less were).
February 4, 2021
Presented in seven chapters, Giving Done Right provides a great balance between the power of storytelling and models of philanthropic giving. Topics cover philanthropy as a core part of American society, choosing a goal, and the importance of partnerships and assessing nonprofit performance. The book is a relatively fast read. Each chapter in the book provides a review at the end with bulleted key points as well as an exhaustive list of giving resources in the appendix. Whether you are a small giver, large donor or you work for a nonprofit or foundation, you will likely walk away with 3 or 4 new ideas for your giving world.
June 1, 2021
Inspirational and informative book on how philanthropy has contributed to our country and solving and alleviating problems that business and government could not solve. This was uplifting, after having read "Winner Take All: The Elite Charade of Changing the World" by Anand Giridharadas, which I also enjoyed very much. The business-driven tech philanthrocapitalists think they can solve humanity's problems by using a business-driven approach, which is too simplistic and doesn't work for the problems that philanthropy and non-profits are working to solve. Fascinating read!
Read
August 14, 2019This is required reading whether you are navigating a new chapter as a philanthropist, or are already a seasoned one. Buchanan is a clear writer who speaks in laymen's terms and sums up his points at the close of each chapter. Donors often make the mistake that giving is easy and Buchanan debunks that myth and provides sound counsel on how to give with intention, to give strategically and, in short, to give well.
Easy to read and a welcome addition to the genre.
Easy to read and a welcome addition to the genre.
March 16, 2024
It's okay. It's repetitive and not that directive on strategies, it has a lot of "on the other hand" perspectives. I think rather than how to give well its central mission is making the case that effective philanthropy is both more challenging than and shouldn't be compared to effective for-profit operations.
April 21, 2019
This is a great book for anyone that is looking to donate money, but doesn't know how to go about choosing who would benefit from the gift the most. I like that the author aimed this at all people that donate, whether it is $1 or a million.
May 14, 2019
Well-thought and well-organized book for anyone that considers themselves a philanthropist. Even though Phil works for an organization that serves foundations, these principles are great for an individual to know and abide by, no matter if you give $5 or $50,000.
Read
August 24, 2019This book would be helpful to a person starting a foundation. It would also be helpful to folks who work for foundations (director, staff member) as a good overview of the charitable nonprofits landscape. The argument that nonprofits should behave more like businesses is addressed.
December 23, 2019
This is a book I read for research at work and so the way I rate it is based on how useful it's insights are rather than how well they're conveyed (although they are well conveyed). One point off for its US-heavy focus but that isn't the author's fault.
November 17, 2025
One of the best and most common sense approaches to philanthropy for those that give money as a career or even personally. I learned a lot and felt really validated in my own approach, will be revisiting a lot as a core foundation of my work.
April 19, 2019
Couldn't put this down!
July 23, 2020
I was glad for some thinking on the topic of where to donate but don't think I ended up with any answers. Was hoping for a bit more of a framework.
April 9, 2021
Verrrrrry niche and not what I’d call a fun read, but an important one for philanthropists and fundraisers. I like what he has to say.
February 21, 2023
I audiobooked this one. As is the case with a lot of philanthropy books, this one repeats itself a fair bit. The core message is useful, however.
December 26, 2024
Center for Effective Philanthropy. Mostly about foundation giving.
April 26, 2025
Strategy humility
Big bets only when you know what works
Big bets only when you know what works
June 3, 2019
This is a really good book about noprofits and how they work. There are great tidbits of information like -- you should not judge a nonprofit by its overhead costs. Giving coherent examples, Buchanan bucks the trend that I normally dislike in my nonfiction books -- using more stories than facts.
Not just for givers, this book should be read by the people on nonprofit boards as well as the people at the top levels. I used to work in the nonprofit world and got to see firsthand what worked and what didn't and I think Buchanan has nailed almost everything.
Will this book appeal to every reader? I don't know. I feel like this is more of a labor of love than a book that is going to appeal to a wide audience but it is a valuable book nonetheless.
Not just for givers, this book should be read by the people on nonprofit boards as well as the people at the top levels. I used to work in the nonprofit world and got to see firsthand what worked and what didn't and I think Buchanan has nailed almost everything.
Will this book appeal to every reader? I don't know. I feel like this is more of a labor of love than a book that is going to appeal to a wide audience but it is a valuable book nonetheless.
February 5, 2023
A really great primer on effective strategies in philanthropy juxtaposing the independent sector with business principles and practices. It’s so much harder to compare causes and standardize impact, and it’s not enough to just apply the business principle of ROI. The book starts out strong but the latter third devolves into becoming a long-running ad with testimonials for The Center for Effective Philanthropy’s assessment and services. I would have loved a breakdown of the assessment itself and some updated outcomes on how it stewarded transformative change for the foundation.
October 8, 2023
For Philanthropy class reading. I have no complaints about this book. It's a no-nonsense guide to doing better for the future of philanthropy and giving.
Displaying 1 - 21 of 21 reviews