An interview with Kris Putnam-Walkerly a subject matter expert in philanthropy and philanthropic planning and giving strategies.
Kris is a sought after philanthropy Advisor, expert and award winning author. She has been featured in the Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, Forbes and, Variety
For the full interview please listen to the most recent CM Group- Free Lunch Podcast, Episode 44 “Filling in the gaps of Philanthropy”.
Colin and Greg: Kris why don't you tell us your story? How did you end up where you are today?
Kris: I am a philanthropy advisor, I started my career in the nonprofit sector at a nonprofit in San Francisco, California, that was trying to change US policy in Central America at the time and support human rights organizations. And interestingly, although I didn't realize it at the time, that job really was what set me and my career to twenty five or so years later write the book Delusional Altruism, which I know we'll talk about in a little bit.
Colin and Greg: It sounds like quite a niche, as you might say, that you have found yourself in. Where do you see it going from here?
Kris: My work has really evolved, I work with philanthropists of all kinds. So what does that mean? It means high net worth donors, ultra high net worth donors and families. It means leaders of foundations, which could be family foundations or private foundations, community foundations, corporate getting programs. Some of my clients are Fortune 500 companies. And really, it's all about helping them to give effectively to help them gain the clarity that they need to have the greatest impact on whatever cause or issue or community that they care about. And so mostly I work now as a trusted advisor and my clients retain me to kind of be their sounding board to help guide them on their philanthropic journey, whatever they're trying to accomplish, or they bring me on as a kind of a strategist to help them create a marketing plan or develop their strategic plan so that they have clarity on what they're trying to accomplish. And then we look at, well, where are you today, given what you're trying to do and how do we get you from where you are today to where you want to be ideally as quickly as possible. And so I continue to do that. My work has expanded globally. I write extensively, including for Forbes and then this book, Delusional Altruism, I just published. I really strive to it. To me, it's kind of like macro social work, right? Because I'm helping the funder that's supporting the nonprofit nongovernmental organization to help people be that ending homelessness or food security or access to health care or mental health, whatever the issue is. And so, you know, I really believe in the mission of what I'm trying to do.
Colin and Greg: Well, that's great. Before we get into some specific discussion, what would you say is the role of philanthropy in society? Why do we do this? Why do you and the companies you work with or the individuals do it?
Kris: I'd say a couple of things. One is certainly because we care about humanity at a very basic level. I think the importance of philanthropy is to give back. And philanthropy isn't just about getting money, I think we're all philanthropists. We give in a variety of ways, if we give of our time as volunteers the talents that we have, certainly financially, but we can also give in terms of the connections and introductions that we can make and the ways that we really show up in the community and in the world. And so I think simply because we care about each other and our future, that that's really, quite frankly, reason enough.
For more questions and answers with Kris Putnam-Walkerly please refer to our Podcast.
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-The CM Group