Philanthropy for everyone

Most of us would like to give more to causes we care about, whether animal welfare, the environment, or curing a disease. However, you may have issues holding you back from giving, like your budget, finding the right charitable organizations, or understanding how to maximize charitable tax breaks.

On the Money Girl podcast, episode 862 this week, I’m excited to be joined by two special guests from The Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP). The first is Phil Buchanan, President of CEP and a passionate advocate for the importance of philanthropy.

He’s an award-winning author of Giving Done Right: Effective Philanthropy and Making Every Dollar Count.

Phil was named “Influencer of the Year” by the Nonprofit Times and has been named 12 times to their “Power and Influence Top 50” list, most recently in 2023. He serves on multiple boards of directors, writes, speaks in the media, and co-hosts the Giving Done Right podcast.

Our second guest is Grace Nicolette, CEP’s Programming and External Relations Vice President.

She co-hosts the Giving Done Right podcast with Phil and frequently speaks to foundations and boards about philanthropic effectiveness in China. 

Before joining CEP, Grace co-founded a philanthropic advisory firm in Shanghai. She was named a Young Global Leader by the World Economic Forum in 2011 and was educated at Harvard and the University of Pennsylvania with honors.

What’s in the interview?

As you’ll hear in today’s interview, Phil and Grace believe everyone can be a better giver, whether you have $100 or $100 million to give away. So, if you want to learn more about putting your money to work for causes you care about, stay with me. 

In my interview with Phil and Grace, we talk about:

• Ways to be a philanthropist even without a large budget.
• Tips to identify causes and nonprofits that will use your donations wisely.
• Steps to take before you decide to give money: 
• How to find community foundations in your area.
• Interesting trends affecting philanthropy and MacKenzie Scott’s impact.
• How to defer or reduce taxes through charitable giving.
• Resources like the National Center for Family Philanthropy to learn more.
• And much more. 

Find a full transcript of Laura’s discussion with Phil and Grace here. 

Listen to the full interview in the player below.