Philanthropists looking to make a direct impact in a chosen field don't need to adhere to traditional approaches to giving in order to achieve their aims.
Our team has been working with business owners and entrepreneurs who are passionate about a cause and see a need, and are interested to explore new approaches to philanthropy to achieve their goals.
One innovative example in California is Withers partner Elizabeth Bawden advising scientist, founder and philanthropist Ross M. Brown in creating the US$400m Brown Institute for Basic Science at the California Institute of Technology (Caltech). Caltech is also taking on the management of the Brown Investigator Award, which supports transformational discoveries in basic sciences that will ultimately benefit humanity.
Excitingly, this is the first time we have seen a philanthropist entrust a successful and innovative program to a top tier institution to administer for the benefit of other researchers. We hope this project inspires entrepreneurs to think about new ways to carry out their own philanthropic objectives.
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