# Toolkit to help philanthropists achieve ‘maximum impact’ released in the UK

- Link: https://fundraising.co.uk/2014/05/28/toolkit-help-philanthropists-achieve-maximum-impact-released-uk/
- Published: 2014-05-28T08:32:26+01:00
- Author: Howard Lake

A toolkit to help philanthropists plan and refine their giving to ensure they achieve
the greatest impact has been released in the UK by wealth management firm [UBS](http://www.ubs.com/uk/en.html).

The [UBS Philanthropy Compass](http://www.ubs.com/content/dam/static/epaper/index.html?id=b0fdd07chttp://)
guides philanthropists through the “necessary building blocks and addresses the 
key questions” that “any philanthropist should consider when shaping his or her 
philanthropy”.

It is provides advice on:

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 * different strategic approaches to philanthropy
 * identifying and assessing opportunities
 * how to implement and evaluate the impact philanthropic of activities
 * choosing the right ‘philanthropic vehicle’, or product, such direct giving, donor
   advised funds, or setting up your own foundation.

“Whether you are just starting out or running a long-standing foundation, philanthropy
is iterative,” the Compass advises potential philanthropists. “It is natural to 
query and review the basis on which yours is run.”

Taking this iterative, approach, UBS says, will allow philanthropists to:

 * adapt their philanthropy to a changing environment
 * improve their operations to maximize impact
 * stay true to their initial visions.

 

### A ‘logical theory of change’ for philanthropists

Speaking at the British launch of the Compass at City University last week, Dr Peter
Grant, of City’s Cass Business School, said the compass would help provide a “logical
theory of change” that will help philanthropists balance the resources they have,
with the impact they could achieve with those resources, and the risk they’ll need
to take to achieve that impact.

[⌊Screen Shot 2014-05-22 at 08.55.03⌉⌊Screen Shot 2014-05-22 at 08.55.03⌉[

Dr Peter Grant: Compass provides a “logical theory of change”

“I see even sophisticated philanthropists and foundations enter into programmes 
without anything like the resources needed to have a significant impact, and they
are then surprised when they don’t find any measurable impact,” Dr Grant said.

He added that ‘risk’ was “inculcated throughout” the Compass.

UBS has released the compass – which was first developed in 2011 with [Cass Business School](http://www.cass.city.ac.uk)
and social impact consultants FSG – as an open source resource for trustees, philanthropy
advisors and individual and family philanthropists, not just clients of UBS.

“We are taking an extremely progressive view of corporate social responsibility,
by looking at where we can add most value,” UBS’s head of philanthropy services 
in the UK Tom Hall told delegates.

The Compass was launched in the USA at the end of March. It can [downloaded from USB’s website](http://www.ubs.com/global/en/wealth_management/uhnw/individuals/philanthropy_valuebased_investing/philanthropy_services/compass.html)
or [viewed online](http://www.ubs.com/content/dam/static/epaper/index.html?id=b0fdd07c).