As part of the Governance in Philanthropy programeme’s Circle project, best-selling author Phil Buchanan was invited to speak to our closed network of institutional and individual donors. Phil is the president of the Centre for Effective Philanthropy, is a passionate advocate for the importance of philanthropy and the non-profit sector and deeply committed to the cause of helping foundations and individual donors to maximize their impact. Hired in 2001 as the organisation’s first chief executive, Phil has led the growth of CEP into the leading provider of data and insight on philanthropic effectiveness. The event consisted of Phil sharing his insights on principles for effective philanthropy, followed by a curated discussion on how to give strategically and on donor-grantee relationships, before the event was opened up to attendees for a live Q&A session.

If you’re an individual or institutional philanthropic donor and are interested in joining the Circle network, kindly reach out to us directly on apunjani@pearlinitiative.org or snair@pearlinitiative.org.

Event Agenda

  • 4:00 – 4:10 Introduction to the Governance in Philanthropy programme and the Circle project
  • 4:10 – 4:40 Understanding the Principles of Effective Philanthropy with Phil Buchanan
  • 4:40 – 4:55 Curated Q&A Session
  • 4:55 – 5:10 Live Q&A Session with the audience
  • 5:10 – 5:15 Closing

Start Date: 23/03/2022 Start Time: 04:00:00 End Time: 05:15:00

Phil Buchanan

Designation: President of CEP

Phil Buchanan, president of CEP, is a passionate advocate for the importance of philanthropy and the nonprofit sector and deeply committed to the cause of helping foundations and individual donors to maximize their impact. Hired in 2001 as the organization’s first chief executive, Phil has led the growth of CEP into the leading provider of data and insight on philanthropic effectiveness.

Phil is author of Giving Done Right: Effective Philanthropy and Making Every Dollar Count, published in 2019 by PublicAffairs and named the “Best Philanthropy Book of the Year” by Inside Philanthropy. He is co-host of a podcast, also called Giving Done Right, with CEP’s Grace Nicolette. Phil is a frequent blogger for the CEP Blog, author of op eds that have appeared in publications such as The Financial Times and The Boston Globe, and a frequent commentator on philanthropy in the media.

Phil is co-founder of YouthTruth, an initiative of CEP’s designed to harness student perceptions to help educators and funders accelerate improvements in K–12 schools and classrooms. In 2016, he was named the Nonprofit Times “influencer of the year” and he has been named nine times to that publication’s “Power and Influence Top 50” list. Phil serves on the boards of directors of Philanthropy Massachusetts and the National Council on Aging.

Phil lives in Concord, Massachusetts with his wife and their two daughters.



As part of the Governance in Philanthropy programeme’s Circle project, best-selling author Phil Buchanan was invited to speak to our closed network of institutional and individual donors. Phil is the president of the Centre for Effective Philanthropy, is a passionate advocate for the importance of philanthropy and the non-profit sector and deeply committed to the cause of helping foundations and individual donors to maximize their impact. Hired in 2001 as the organisation’s first chief executive, Phil has led the growth of CEP into the leading provider of data and insight on philanthropic effectiveness. The event consisted of Phil sharing his insights on principles for effective philanthropy, followed by a curated discussion on how to give strategically and on donor-grantee relationships, before the event was opened up to attendees for a live Q&A session.If you’re an individual or institutional philanthropic donor and are interested in joining the Circle network, kindly reach out to us directly on apunjani@pearlinitiative.org or snair@pearlinitiative.org.

Upon registering for the event a zoom link will be shared.

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