Philanthropy and Economic Development: New Roles and Strategies

Philanthropic investments in economic development—including grants, technical assistance, program-related investments, policy advocacy, and civic leadership—have increased during the past decades. Philanthropic support for economic development provides flexible, timely resources for innovation, capacity building, and policy advocacy. While philanthropy is often associated with social equity approaches, philanthropic investments in economic development are quite diverse—downtown development, place-based renewal, social enterprises, and economic development networks. This study reviews existing data about philanthropy and economic development, vignettes of foundation investments, and nonprofit perspectives about new foundation roles. Overall, place-rooted foundations are most engaged in economic development, while many national foundations are formulating broader strategic frameworks related to economic inclusion. Foundations are helping achieve concrete economic development results; future research requires improvements in data and in-depth case studies of places with significant philanthropic engagement.