To give with greater purpose and impact, it’s essential to ask the right questions.

What do you want to achieve with your philanthropy? What communities or issues matter most to you? What strategies will move the needle? Whether you’re refining a broad vision or putting a focused plan into action, building knowledge is key. Strategic research can reveal unmet needs, surface promising innovations, uncover funding gaps, and spark new partnerships. Ongoing learning and evaluation help ensure your giving is effective—and evolves as needed. 

HOW WE CAN HELP

  • Help donors learn about issues or geographic areas of interest locally, nationally, or globally 
  • Conduct research and analysis of unmet needs and opportunities for philanthropy 
  • Provide comprehensive research scans of specific issues to map out best practices, trends, challenges, and potential funding opportunities 
  • Conduct benchmarking research on peers or competitors 
  • Create an evaluation framework and process 
  • Evaluate grants and philanthropic strategies or programs to assess progress towards philanthropic goals and recommend strategies to improve results, refine approaches, and leverage greater impact 
  • Develop and implement customized grantee listening systems 
  • Conduct impact analyses and stakeholder and grantee analyses 
  • Assess foundation boards, governance, and operation 

“This family had never been involved with philanthropic activity at this level, and suddenly overnight had the responsibility to handle a big grantmaking budget every year. They didn’t know how. TPI helps make the administration of the foundation so much more meaningful than if the family were administering it on their own.”

Andy Stamelman, Trustee, Benjamin Foundation