Abilities a philanthropist must possess

Many philanthropists (and their grantees, frankly) think that having money is the only qualification for the job of a donor. That’s wrong. It’s also wrong to assume, like some givers do, that the philanthropist position alone gives one the right to “add value” through “unique insight” into the world’s affairs. This right has to be earned. Here are four ways to do it.

Knowledge of fundamental science

If you’re playing with your money to feel good and look good, then you are free to do as you please. If you’re doing it to change the world, then you better know how the world changes. And this is hard.

You need to understand change theory, first of all. This can already be a stumbling block, since there are many texts, courses and opinions out there about how systemic change can be achieved, and they tend to disagree with one another very often. For a curious but pertinent example, see two books with the same title, here and here. 

At the very least, you need to understand how the value chain of systemic change works, the interplay between regulation and policy, citizen action, lobby groups, the media, etc. If you don’t have at least a general idea how your donation, invariably a drop in the ocean of global capital flows, moves the needle in the right direction, you are better off saving your money.

Of course, the hard fundamental science is even tougher than change theory. If you’re investing in curbing climate change, you need to understand issues from phosphates to cap and trade to the levelized cost of energy. In other fields, you should know your Piketty on inequality, your Hudson on gender issues, your Rawls on democracy and justice. And that’s just the baseline.

A good rule of thumb is that a serious philanthropist should spend at least 30 percent of their productive time reading and learning.

Communication and public speaking

Even if you’re doing your giving anonymously, which we strongly believe in, you need to be able to inspire others to follow in your footsteps. Can you confidently walk into a room full of people and give a speech that motivates them about a cause? Can you speak to your peers and get them to start investing in change.

The key to the non-financial added value is the ability to build bridges and wide coalitions for change, through your contacts in business, politics and citizen action. For this, you need to be able to talk to people of all walks of life in their language and understanding their own concerns, finding common ground.

I have seen very few people who are “born” with the skill of communication. More frequently, this is something that one acquires with enough practice. For the financial altruist, this is particularly hard since people with money often don’t have enough people in their vicinity giving them constructive negative feedback. Something as simple as a Toastmasters course can be a good step in the right direction.

Understanding society, not only technology

In his 1968 novel Stand on Zanzibar, John Brunner, one of 20th century’s most important science fiction writers, peered ahead to imagine life in 2010, correctly forecasting wearable technology, Viagra, video calls, same-sex marriage, the legalisation of cannabis, and the proliferation of mass shootings. Brunner also predicted, and gave name to, the computer worm, in his later book, The Shockwave Rider. 

Brunner understood society. Technology was important to him only insofar as it was a conduit to underlying psychological and social tendencies of the world in which he lived. Brunner also researched his topics. He would prepare for years to write by reading in-depth about the subject, so that he could understand where the world was headed.

For Stand on Zanzibar, he spent nearly three years reading up on topics from the role of genetic inheritance in disease to links between population spurts and urban violence. He also spent a month in the US in 1966, visiting Los Angeles, San Francisco, Chicago and New York. He had filled 60 pages with thoughts before hammering out a first draft.

If change is tornado forming somewhere in the air then you must be the storm chaser tracking it. You must be there, on the ground, present, observing, not rely on newscasters’ data.

Rejecting cheap epiphanies

We live in an age of ubiquitous epiphanies and groupthink. Maybe previous ages were like that as well, but today’s proliferation of business books, podcasts and other materials seem to have a very small, very closed group of ever-rotating guests and ideas. The result are short-lived “revolutionary ideas” about how X will save the world (replace X with mindfulness, impact investing, philanthropy, etc.). 

The true changemaker must have a skeptical mind and ask the extra question. Their epiphanies must be their own, not the broadly available ones.

An example. Problem: women aren’t paid as much as men and are harassed and discriminated against in the workplace. First order epiphany solution: women need to change their posture and “lean in” more in conversations. Second order epiphany solution: men need to change how they treat women; workplace rules and laws should be adapted to change the discriminatory workplace culture.

Cheap, first-order epiphanies are often a subtle way of preventing change by blaming the victim of the system, not the system itself. Altruists must look beyond them and form their own opinions. One of my lifelong mentors taught me once an interview questions to ask candidates: which two of your intimately held beliefs could be wrong, and why? This has helped me find dozens of A-list recruits over the years. The best people constantly reassess their stale ideas and improve on them. Philanthropists, with the weight of changing the world on their shoulders, must do likewise.