The Robin Hood Rules for Smart Giving

by Michael Weinstein, Ralph Bradburd

Overview

The Robin Hood Foundation is a charitable organization focused on alleviating poverty in New York City. Michael M. Weinstein is the foundation's senior vice president. In that role he developed its metrics-based approach, called "relentless monetization," to ensure that the money the foundation receives and grants is used most effectively. Ralph M. Bradburd has served as long-time consultant to Robin Hood on matters of metrics.

In this book Weinstein and Bradburd show how to implement the Robin Hood approach and explain how any nonprofit organizations or philanthropic donor can use it to achieve the greatest benefit from every philanthropic dollar. Drawing on their extensive knowledge, the authors devote specific chapters to the difficulties most frequently encountered by donors trying to measure the benefits of their initiatives.. This book provides straightforward, targeted advice for funding "smart" nonprofit programs.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780231158367
Publisher:	Columbia University Press
Publication date:	05/14/2013
Series:	Columbia Business School Publishing
Edition description:	New Edition
Pages:	176
Product dimensions:	6.20(w) x 9.10(h) x 0.80(d)
Age Range:	18 Years

About the Author

Michael M. Weinstein is the senior vice president of The Robin Hood Foundation and holds a Ph.D. in economics from the Massachusetts Institute of Technology. He served on the editorial board of The New York Times and as its economics columnist during the 1990s. He was the founding director of the Greenberg Center for Geoeconomic Studies while holding the Paul A. Volcker Chair in International Economics at the Council on Foreign Relations. He is president and founder of W.A.D. Financial Counseling, Inc., a nonprofit foundation providing free financial counseling to poor families.

Ralph M. Bradburd is professor of economics and the David A. Wells Professor of Political Economy at Williams College. He has served as a consultant for international organizations such as the World Bank and USAID, HHS, the Federal Trade Commission, other U.S. federal and state-level government agencies, and the nonprofit Robin Hood Foundation. He is the incoming chair of the Environmental Studies Program at Williams College.

Table of Contents

Preface vii

1 Overview of Relentless Monetization 1

2 Translating Mission Into Mission-Relevant Outcomes 17

3 Basics of Monetizing Outcomes 30

4 Those Pesky Counterfactuals 44

5 The Meaning of Present Discounted Values 53

6 Examples of Metrics by Outcome 57

7 Examples of Metrics by Grant: Multi-Outcome Interventions 67

8 Completing the Analytical Traverse: Small-Bore Benefit/Cost Analysis 76

9 Key Generalities: Q&A 86

10 Six Purposes 95

11 Prominent Metrics Systems 99

12 Reflections on Risk 110

13 Conclusion 128

Appendix A Counterfactual Complications: Scared Responsibility 131

Appendix B Choices Between More and Less Risky Initiatives 134

Appendix C Calculating a Program's Expected Well-being Impact 143

Notes 147

Index 153

Editorial Reviews

This book is a critical contribution to philanthropy. It provides a data-driven framework so we can ensure that our good intentions translate into great impact, and it raises the bar for how we make our giving decisions, encouraging us all to make the most of what we have to give!

Laura Arrillaga-Andreessen

This is a great book for both nonprofit funders and nonprofit leaders. Its 'relentless monetization' concept—if widely deployed—would dramatically boost the impact of the independent sector. Now let's get to work and act on this great advice.

Mark Tercek

[Weinstein & Bradburd] provide detailed guidance on how to make choices that have real, positive impact in the world.

Harvard Business Review - Tim Sullivan

The Robin Hood Rules for Smart Giving is a must read for all 'do-gooders,' including the donors who give money and the nonprofits that spend it. This book is a true gem.

Sheldon Danziger

The Robin Hood Rules for Smart Giving takes relentless monetization to its limits in a relentlessly smart, subtle, and readable manner. Even philanthropists hesitant to go the whole way will find their judgment greatly improved by the book's rigorous analysis.

Paul Brest

Michael M. Weinstein and Ralph M. Bradburd show how using the smart economics of cost-benefit analysis can allow social sector leaders to measure the effectiveness of their projects and make choices with their limited resources. This is a must read for those leaders and active board members and donors.

Glenn Hubbard