Organizations such as Brothers For Life are designed to operate much like a successful start-up business. They are driven by a talented team of volunteers and board members, a clear mission statement and strategic plan, and passion and dedication to their cause. Here are five important lessons Brothers for Life can teach us about successful philanthropies

1. LESSONS WE CAN
LEARN FROM SUCCESSFUL
EARLY STAGE PHILANTHROPIES
JEFF GREENSTEIN
5 BROTHERS FOR LIFElike

2. Only some embryonic philanthropic
organizations have been successful at
driving change and making a significant
impact in the communities they serve
while effectively scaling their reach to a
broader group within their target market.
What sets these organizations apart from the rest?

3. Organizations such as Brothers For Life
are designed to operate much like a
successful start-up business.
Here are five
important lessons
Brothers for Life
can teach us about
successful venture/
early-stage
philanthropies.

4. CLEAR MISSION AND FOCUS1Identifying a clear mission statement
and encouraging all team members
to stay focused on fulfilling that
mission is the foundation of any
successful enterprise.
A mission statement adds clarity that
defines future areas of expansion.

5. Brothers for Life launched
many initiatives, but all the
while they are anchored by a
clear mission - helping
recently disabled and injured
Israeli combat soldiers
recover from their injuries
and live productive lives.

6. ENGAGEMENT ON BOTH SIDES2“There are three levels of giving that
progressively get more difficult and
demanding but at the same time more
valuable and impactful: giving one’s
money; giving one’s time; giving one’s
home and heart.”
- Rabbi Chaim Levine,
Founder and Executive Director of Brothers For Life

7. Simply sending money to those in need isn’t
enough to build a successful organization.

8. It’s important to interact with
the communities involved,
beneficiaries and donors, and
really look into these people’s
eyes and learn about their story.

9. OPERATING SMARTLY AND PRUDENTLY3 Many early stage
philanthropies operate with
limited resources in terms of
human resources and cash.
Given these constraints it is
absolutely critical to
determine where those
resources are best allocated.

10. The individuals involved with managing the
organization’s financials need to be acting in
the best interest of the organization, setting
realistic budgets, and working to maximize
the budget at every opportunity.

11. Brothers For Life started on
a shoe string where its
leadership carefully
evaluated how every dollar
was spent. This attention to
detail analyzed how each
dollar spent impacts the
organization’s objectives and
long term aspirations.

12. DEFINING AND MEASURING IMPACT4It can be difficult to
quantify the impact of an
organization’s efforts, so it
is up to the leadership
team or committee
members to define exactly
how they will measure the
effects of their efforts.

13. Success is often not a straight line
so it is valuable to measure what
works and what doesn't on a
regular basis in order to make
appropriate adjustments.

14. It’s important to keep in mind that it’s
not always about numbers.
While it is valuable to know
how many families you fed
after a food drive, for example,
there are other ways to
measure impact.

15. Genuinely understanding how the
recipients are benefiting at a personal
level means far more than any statistic.

16. BUILD PARTNERS NOT DONORS5
Donations and particularly
recurring donations are the
lifeblood of most early stage
philanthropies.
It is important to turn donors into
partners by igniting their passion and
commitment to the cause.

17. Partners internalize the organization and
feel vested in its success. These feelings
lead to both larger and more regular
contributions to the organizations cause.

18. Donations, particularly recurring
donations, are the lifeblood of most
early stage philanthropies.
At Brothers for Life, however,
partners do a lot more than simply
donating. They are dedicated to
support and scale the organization
through various efforts such as
networking. Not all organizations can
accomplish this structure but they all
should endeavor to.

19. Successful philanthropic organizations
are built with a strong structure and
foundation, operating much like a
successful start-up business.

20. WWW.GREENSTEINFAMILYFOUNDATION.ORG
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