At our recent Rotary Club of Edina meeting, we welcomed Jen Ford Reedy, president of the Bush Foundation and author of Please Be Good at Philanthropy.
Jen drew on her years of experience in philanthropy to explore some of the surprisingly complicated realities of trying to do good effectively. Her presentation challenged some common assumptions about charitable giving and encouraged attendees to think differently about how philanthropy works — and where even the best intentions can create unexpected challenges.
Among the “brain-bending” ideas Jen shared were that much of the risk in philanthropy falls on others and that organizations can sometimes undermine their impact by focusing too heavily on measuring that impact. Her presentation offered a thoughtful look at the relationship between donors, foundations and the communities they hope to serve.
