Philanthropy faces a deficit of awareness and engagement among influential Americans.

 

1. To many, we are an invisible sector. According to a 2007 Harris Interactive poll commissioned by the Packard Foundation for PAI, leaders on the front lines of social and community action feel uninformed about foundations. Most can’t cite an example of how foundations have helped their communities. More than half can’t even name a foundation on the first try.

	Leaders can’t give an example of a foundation benefiting their community
	Leaders can’t name a foundation on their first try

2. We face the makings of a perfect storm, as rising legislative and regulatory scrutiny of foundations is compounded by continued ignorance of their work and value among policymakers.

3. News coverage of foundations is transactional. According to a survey by InfoTrend, nearly 99% of more than 40,000 stories about foundations since 1990 were about grants made or dollars out the door. Only 1% were about the impact of foundation activity.

Coverage is transactional

4. Philanthropy’s impact is simply not registering with critical audiences. This was the conclusion of sector leaders and observers interviewed for the PAI report Making American Foundations Relevant. What’s more, they laid the blame squarely on the culture and communications practice of foundations themselves.

Why does this matter?

Philanthropy needs the engagement of influential Americans for four reasons:

	Influence. We need to secure vital political support to protect philanthropy’s freedom and flexibility.
	Impact. We need to form the cross-sector partnerships necessary to take promising programs to scale.
	Insight. We need to bring the best and brightest into foundations as board members, leaders and advisors.
	Investment. We need to widen the pipeline of dollars and other kinds of support for nonprofit organizations.