Case Study 5
Establishment of a social impact measurement tool and philanthropy Intermediary Project
Development of a social impact measurement tool and the launch and implementation of a new leading philanthropic intermediary
Client
Head of London based family office
Mandate
As part of the client’s wider philanthropic strategy, establish and run a new leading philanthropic intermediary. The new entity will make a tangible impact on the emerging and fast growing infrastructure of intermediaries in the social investment market, focusing initially on recommending international charities to impact investors.
Methodology
Natalie was retained to conduct a broad comparative analysis of all the actors in the philanthropic intermediary space (business models, management teams, target clients) in order to identify how to best position a new entity to work in synergy with those established already. Based on these results, she was tasked to define the mission, vision and working/research methodology of the new organisation. Identify the effective size and scope of work both in terms of which charities to research and which funders to target. Build a small and cost effective team comprising of research analyst, marketing manager, board of directors and research advisory committee through interviews and defined selection criteria. Identify marketing and branding opportunities (including website development)
Outcome
As a result of the above described research and business plan development, the client chose to set up an intermediary organisation which:
1) Focuses on recommending small to medium sized international development charities working in the least developed countries and to do this through an investment analyst type research methodology;
2) Provides bespoke giving advice to individuals and corporates on which charities to give to in order for donations to have the biggest social/development impact;
The client also chose to build a website as a tool to market and brand the intermediary service and as a way for the wider public to access the research reports and donate online.
Value Added
Due to Natalie’s meticulous research driven approach and the ability to build an extensive network of both non-governmental partners and private individuals and corporates, the client not only received a valuable tool for measuring the social impact of his own philanthropic investments but was also able to become an active contributor to the intermediary space, improving the ‘state of philanthropy’ in some way.