Research
Maximising impact
Research only matters if it changes where money goes. This is the part of the work where analysis becomes a strategy, a portfolio and a set of grants, shaped around the donor doing the giving.
What we build with donors
Donor strategy and circle theses
A giving strategy that states what you are trying to change, over what horizon, and with how much appetite for uncertainty. For funding circles, the same discipline becomes a shared thesis the group can act on together.
Tailored grant portfolios
A researched set of grant opportunities matched to your priorities, with the evidence and the costs laid out per organisation. A portfolio rather than a single bet, so one disappointment does not define your year.
Foundation services and vehicles
Help establishing and running the structures your giving needs: choosing a vehicle, building decision frameworks for grants and budgets, and setting up diligence, administration and reporting that will still make sense at twice the scale.
Learning journeys
Choosing a cause is hard in areas that demand context. We help you build learning journeys that range from a curated reading list to sessions with outside experts, so the choice is made with understanding rather than simply delegated.
Before money moves
The questions we ask every organisation
Publishing these is deliberate. They tell donors what our diligence covers, and they tell organisations how they will be judged. A strong answer is specific and checkable. The recurring red flag, in every category, is an organisation that cannot imagine being wrong.
Idea
Why is this one of the most cost-effective ways to help the people or animals it serves, right now?
Team
What went wrong last year, and what changed because of it?
Execution
What did you deliver in the last 12 months, in numbers we can check?
Governance
Who sits on your board, and can they overrule you?
Counterfactuality
What does this grant let you do that would not happen without it?
Funding mix
What share of your budget would this grant cover, and what is the plan beyond one donor?
Strategy
What would make you pivot, or shut this down?
Endgame
Do you scale, hand the model to government, get absorbed, or work yourselves out of a job?
Donors doing their own diligence are welcome to use these. If you want the full set, with what a good answer sounds like for each, write to us.
Where this happens
This work runs through our advisory for individual donors and families, and through funding circles where a group backs one problemProblem. A specific issue within a cause area that reduces the well-being of a target population. together. The research behind it starts at prioritising problems. If you are still working out what scale of giving is right for you, start with where your income sits globally.