47 Quotes by Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen

My father has been to me a paragon of what actualizing philanthropic potential can be.

When I started teaching at Stanford Graduate School of Business in 2000, no field-based courses in strategic philanthropy existed.

Of course, giving is deeply emotional. But supplementing emotion with research makes it more likely that a gift can have a bigger impact. It's like any investment. After all, you wouldn't put funds into stocks or bonds without understanding the potential return. Why wouldn't you do the same when investing in society?

Historically, philanthropy has been something that you do when you turn 65, and you are retired, and you have spent your life accumulating your financial resources, and now you finally have time to do it. But because of the Internet revolution, that in turn revolutionized economic growth and wealth generation.

My father taught me many important giving lessons, but two stand out. First, always give as much as you possibly can. And second, give equally from among your resources - your time, your mind and your capital. These are principles I live by.

The fact that 35 percent of all American giving went to religious organizations in 2010 reflects how closely bound many of us are with our place of worship.

When incomes and bonuses decrease, revenues falter, and businesses stumble, it's more important than ever to give - not necessarily more, but in a way that matters more. When incomes are down and wallets are stretched, the effectiveness of our giving is what really counts.

Philanthropic dollars are precious resources, so it's our responsibility to consider how we use them carefully. Yet few of us spend enough time doing so.

'Giving 2.0' was born of my desire to redefine and democratize philanthropy.