Author Archive:

Kris Putnam-Walkerly

Practical advice Kris Putnam-Walkerly 8 August 2021

Why philanthropists get overwhelmed and how to avoid shutting down

How To Find The Reset Button. A serious, but largely overlooked, problem in philanthropy is feeling overwhelmed. What is overwhelm? According to wellness writer Michelle Rees, ‘Overwhelm happens when the sheer volume of thoughts feelings, …

Practical advice Kris Putnam-Walkerly 24 July 2021

Does your philanthropy suffer from a scarcity mindset?

Take this short quiz to find out. It’s philanthropy’s Achilles heel. Foundation leaders, donors, professional athletes, corporate executives – all philanthropists – want to be good caretakers of their charitable wealth. They want their assets …

Practical advice Kris Putnam-Walkerly 16 May 2021

Trusting relationships advance philanthropy during times of crisis

Build trusting relationships before times get tough. Regardless of who you’re trying to help or who your potential collaborators are, we’re all human and we need to know that we can count on people to show up …

Opinion 1 Kris Putnam-Walkerly 1 January 2021

The next crisis: nonprofit leadership exodus

Nonprofit leaders are exhausted. Many were planning to leave even before 2020 happened. There were the white boomers trying to retire, the young leaders of colour trying to navigate cultures not ready to put them in …

Practical advice Kris Putnam-Walkerly 9 August 2020

Seven lessons donors can learn from MacKenzie Scott’s surprise $1.7 billion gift

On July 28, MacKenzie Scott surprised the world by announcing she had made $1.7 billion in donations to 116 nonprofit organisations. They were selected for the transformative work they were doing and to support leaders driving …

Practical advice Kris Putnam-Walkerly 17 May 2020

Rapid strategy development in times of crisis

Strategies guide philanthropists during tumultuous times  Philanthropists are most effective when they have a strategy. And, formulating that strategy is easier than you think. With a strategy ready to guide decisions, givers save time and …

Practical advice Kris Putnam-Walkerly 25 March 2020

COVID-19 doesn’t need to slow you down

In the past week, I’ve heard a dozen examples of philanthropists who dramatically slowed or halted their work because of cancelled trips or the need to work remotely. Assuming loved ones and colleagues are not …

Practical advice Kris Putnam-Walkerly 11 March 2020

Three signs of a scarcity mindset in your philanthropy

As a donor, you want to change the world. You seek transformational change. You don’t want a band-aid. You want solutions. But something stands in your way. That thing between well-intentioned donors and transformational giving …

Practical advice Kris Putnam-Walkerly 19 September 2019

Small Donors, big thinking

How small investors can change the world ‘Small but mighty’ is a phrase we’ve seen applied time and again to describe something that seems too little to notice but that packs a wallop when it …

Practical advice Kris Putnam-Walkerly 15 June 2019

Three conditions for dramatic impact in philanthropy

Have the most impact possible in your charitable giving. If you want to achieve dramatic impact in philanthropy you need to know where you’re going, you need to get there, and you need to know …