Wednesday, August 13, 2014
Atlantic Philanthropies Offers Best Practices For Winding Down
At the same time the Atlantic Philanthropies is working on giving away all its money, it's taking in a great deal of knowledge that could be helpful to other foundations "considering or already implementing a limited-life strategy."
In an article in the Fall 2014 Stanford Social Innovation Review, Christopher G. Oechsli, president and CEO of the Atlantic Philanthropies, and David La Piana, managing partner at La Piana Consulting, offer advice on topics that include managing assets, maintaining relationships with grantees, preparing employees for their final work days and ensuring an organization's legacy.
About that last point, the authors write: "For us, everything now comes down to ensuring our legacy. That means continuing to make big bets on transformational opportunities—big bets whose impact will endure beyond the existence of our foundation. It also means helping other foundations learn the art of ending well."...