As I was going through an old notebook, I found a piece of advice that Jessica Stannard-Friel gave me in 2007 at a conference, "start a blog, it's a great way to position yourself in the field and to develop a two-way conversation about generational issues." Jessica is the sister of Sean Stannard-Stockton, blogger at Tactical Philanthropy and she had described how Sean's experience starting a blog just a few months before had been a great way to meet colleagues and flesh out new ideas. I've stayed in touch with Sean over the last few years and was excited when he announced his newest venture Tactical Philanthropy Advisors, where he will work directly advising wealthy donors on how to make their philanthropy more effective. I am always pleased when one of my fellow bloggers leverages the knowledge and connections that they have developed through blogging to make a personal or professional dream come true. The firm will have many services for individuals but I am most interested in his plan to bring individual donors together with professional foundation staff to share lessons learned in something he is calling the Tactical Philanthropy Knowledge Network. More about that from Sean's website:
Who you know is often more important than what you know. And yet philanthropists – from individuals to large foundations – seldom communicate with each other. The result is that donors often have to reinvent the wheel. To help our clients benefit from the vast amount of knowledge in the field of philanthropy, we are building the Tactical Philanthropy Knowledge Network.
One of the core services of Tactical Philanthropy Advisors is to act as a trusted intermediary between major donors and the professional field of philanthropy. The Tactical Philanthropy Knowledge Network is a network of professional grantmakers who are committed to the idea that knowledge-sharing leads to greater social impact. Philanthropy thought leaderJed Emerson has agreed to act as Chair of the Network. In addition, the design firm IDEO will be involved in designing the Network and facilitating Network gatherings.
The Network will launch in late 2009 with the first in-person gathering to take place in early 2010.