Please Be Good at Philanthropy Bundle: Book and Workbook

Overview

This shrinkwrapped bundle consists of two books: Please Be Good at Philanthropy and The Please Be Good at Philanthropy Workbook.

Save 40% when you buy both books. 

In Please Be Good at Philanthropy, foundation president and educator offers a candid guide to the singular nature of foundation strategy, for board members, staff members, and anyone navigating the world of philanthropy. 

Jen Ford Reedy has served as President of the Minnesota-based Bush Foundation since 2012. In her perennially popular Philanthropy 101 classes, Reedy tells her students: Everyone is a beginner when they join a foundation. Foundation board and staff members come from a variety of professional backgrounds and bring their talents and skills into the field. But even if you’ve been successful in other sectors, you must adapt your skills to be effective in the world of philanthropy.

Please Be Good at Philanthropy explains how to do just that. Reedy lays out five truths of philanthropic strategy that will help you shift to a philanthropic mindset. Then she dives into the basic steps of good foundation practice that will truly benefit the people and organizations you serve. 

Clear examples and reflective questions help new foundation board and staff members understand their organizations’ purposes and thoughtfully manage the risks and tradeoffs in their organizations’ approaches. Each chapter includes stories of both successes and failures that show philanthropic practice in action and offer industry newcomers insight into what has worked for other foundations.

Like a trusted mentor who helps you through your first months in a new job, Reedy imparts endlessly useful advice to help you get good at doing good. 

The companion workbook helps foundation board and staff members—and all students of philanthropy—explore grantmaking strategy through stories, discussion questions, practical exercises, and guided application. 

In her book Please Be Good at Philanthropy, Bush Foundation President Jen Ford Reedy argues that those working in philanthropy need to commit to doing it well and continuously improving, because their work affects peoples’ lives. With this supplemental workbook, she gives readers a structured way to explore and evaluate their own organizations’ strategies. 

Author Biography

Jen Ford Reedy is President of the Bush Foundation. She has worked in philanthropy since 2009, and her leadership in the field includes serving on the boards of Independent Sector and the Council on Foundations. She has taught classes on philanthropy through the Minnesota Council on Foundations and at the University of Minnesota, and is on the faculty for the national Council on Foundations’ new executive retreats.