About DGW

Let’s say you make a donation to a very worthy not-for-profit organization focused on addressing food scarcity. Inevitably, you receive a warm and personal note thanking you for your contribution, but do you really know how your contribution was used? Sure, you might learn that 100,000 cans of food were collected, but do you really know the actual impact? Is there a way to ascertain how your donation led to the collection and distribution of food…and…how that might have led to lower incidence of diabetes or perhaps better academic performance among school children not arriving at school hungry? We think so.

Or, maybe you have become concerned about the adults you pass every day on your way to work that are unsheltered. You might ask yourself why all the efforts to provide transitional housing result in revolving door syndrome without really moving the needle on the issue of homelessness. It’s because it’s a complex issue needing a collective of partners working together to address its underlying cause from all sides. Trauma intervention, mental health support, addiction services, workforce programs, and transitional housing are all key ingredients to truly generating real change. Individually, organizations strive to address each of these areas, but as a collaborative they can stretch across one another to create an entire universe of impact.

If you are touched by these issues, know that so am I. After a decades-long career in banking followed by a second career as CEO of a major not-for-profit organization in Philadelphia, I’ve dedicated myself to creating networks of organizations doing the very best work in the areas of food and shelter scarcity along with other critical issues facing our society today. I’m reaching out because I believe you might share my belief that there is a new and different way to achieve philanthropic impact and outcomes. 

Here’s what we know: there are a bewildering array of organizations to support. Many of which have overlapping missions, yet don’t always have capacity to collaborate with one another. Often, we as donors are given a very fuzzy lens into organizational governance, performance and impact and online tools such as Charity Navigator, GuideStar and 990s have outdated information with no consistent or true reporting ofmilestones of performance.

Every not-for-profit, no matter how effective they may be, delivers on only a portion of their mission. Homelessness is as much about trauma and mental health as it is about homes and shelters. Food insecurity is very much about access to food as it is about actual nourishment. A holistic approach and a meaningful change in outcomes requires the work of an entire suite of organizations working together to achieve more enduring outcomes.

You want to be a well-informed investor in your philanthropic commitments, just as you are in your financial investments. Picking single not-for-profits to support is like picking single stocks or fixed income instruments. Today, thanks to Vanguard Charitable, there are more informed ways to direct your dedicated charitable funds and our company, Doing Good.Well., has teamed up with them to help.  Your philanthropic investment can be just that – an investment. We can help you take that leap from intention to action so that the commitment you made to enact change can become a reality. 

In the coming months, we will share cases studies, introduce you to issues experts, and share how a well informed philanthropic investor is an impactful investor. So, be on the lookout for our next blog and please let me know what you think! We value your thoughts and feedback.

Thank you for wanting to make a real difference in the world and thank you for joining me on this important journey. Together, let’s do some good and let’s do it well.

Vik Dewan
Principal – Doing Good Well