So you’ve decided to create a culture of philanthropy. Now what? Obviously, the first step (agreeing to have a culture of philanthropy) is critical. But what does a culture of philanthropy even look like?
2025 saw sudden and unexpected withdrawals of critical federal funds from nonprofits of all kinds and sizes. In response, nonprofit organizations have reviewed their revenue sources and many have concluded that they need a new or renewed commitment to private funding to fulfill their mission.
The Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund describes a culture of philanthropy as, “Generally, a culture of philanthropy is one in which everyone—board, staff and executive director—has a part to play in raising resources for the organization.” We love this! It is explicit in describing who is responsible for this culture: everyone.
We are excited to share these Five Principles In A Culture of Philanthropy as a way to describe what success might look like at your organization. These are developed based on decades of experience in working in successful large, medium, and small nonprofits that evolved to focus on the power of private philanthropy to grow and sustain themselves.
Financial measures are a great way to track your culture’s commitment to philanthropic revenue, but philanthropy returns can take a year or more to show up in your financial statements. These Five Principles help assess your culture now:
- Prioritize relationships over transactions.
- Put the mission first, always.
- Effectively communicate “Why.”
- Understand your skills and capabilities.
- Your systems track relationships.
This sheet describes these principles a bit more. How does your organization stand? Have you committed to creating a culture of philanthropy? Do you demonstrate a commitment to these principles? Which ones? How can you improve?