Giving With Focusing Philanthropy


Focusing Philanthropy is a 501c3 tax-exempt, public charity. All donations to us are tax-deductible for U.S. taxpayers.

Our founders cover all the operating costs of Focusing Philanthropy. 100% of all donated dollars support our programs; none goes to our overhead. We never charge either donors or implementing nonprofit partners anything for what we do. If donors give to us by credit card, we replenish credit card fees so intended programs receive 100 cents of every donated dollar.

Though there is no cost for someone to give through us, there are several benefits:

  • Continuous, active monitoring of the implementing nonprofit
  • Assurance of substantive, accurate feedback on the results of a donor’s generosity
  • Curated giving opportunities not available otherwise
  • Frequently, leveraged impact since Focusing Philanthropy orchestrates many matching challenges each year and our donor’s often get double or triple the impact as their dollars are used to attract contributions from others in support of the same program

Unless the donor wishes to be anonymous, we share donor’s information with the implementing nonprofit so the donor receives the same recognition as if the gift had been made directly.

Five Ways to Give


Discretionary Giving: About 25% of all our donations give us discretion on allocating funds. This allows us to apply the dollars in the way and at the time when they will achieve the most human impact. We report to discretionary donors on the causes, reasons, and expected impacts of the allocations we make. If we spread a donor’s discretionary contribution across multiple programs, we also provide a year-end recap of all allocations made and results achieved.

Supporting a Campaign: We run about a dozen MATCHING CAMPAIGNS each year. Our donors contribute to a challenge pool, with dollars matched by contributions raised by our implementing partners. We add either one or two dollars for every two dollars raised from new donors by our partners. This means our donors enjoy double or triple the impact from their contributions. These campaigns are always designed to support a tailored initiative on which we report to participating donors.

Giving Thematically: Tell us about an area of special interest and we will build a giving portfolio drawn from our giving menu with that focus. Examples of themes, among many other possibilities, could include: women and children, economic self-sufficiency, education in Southern California, basic needs in Africa (or central America or southeast Asia); we will give you a portfolio report at the end of each year.

Multi-generational Giving: Many of our donors wish to introduce their children or grandchildren to the pleasures of philanthropy. They make a contribution to us in the name of a child or grandchild as a gift to them at the time of a birthday or holiday, and leave the allocation decisions to the gift recipient. The donor gets the tax deduction but the recipient gets the pleasure of choosing the beneficiary from a diverse array of options. We relate to the gift recipient as the donor, providing the same donor impact reports they would have received if the contribution had come from them.

Embracing Individual Programs: We welcome contributions targeting specific programs and implementing partners. Some of our donors are attracted to an individual cause or organization. We are happy to share information and answer questions about any organization we showcase.

Giving Logistics


We routinely receive contributions in a range of ways.

Please use our online form for gifts via credit card. We “replenish” 100% of credit card fees.

Gifts made via check are to be made payable to “Focusing Philanthropy,” sent to our mailing address below. If the contribution is for a targeted initiative, please put the name of the initiative in the memo line.

Please fill out our online pledge form. This ensures you will receive a written donation acknowledgment for tax purposes, helps us know to expect your check, and allows for any special notes, such as if the gift is in honor of someone.

Mailing address:

Focusing Philanthropy
1637 16th Street
Santa Monica, CA 90404

Information for gifts made via wire transfer:

Wells Fargo Bank, N.A.
420 Montgomery Street
San Francisco, CA 94101

Routing Number for Wires: 121000248
SWIFT: WFBIUS6S
Account Name: Focusing Philanthropy, Inc.
Account Number: 3925800173
Memo: Recipient

Please fill out our online pledge form. This ensures you will receive a written donation acknowledgement for tax purposes, helps us know to expect your check, and allows for any special notes, such as if the gift is in honor of someone.

Focusing Philanthropy routinely processes contributions made through DAFs. Please follow the same instructions as for gifts by check above.

Please fill out our stock donation formContact us if you need assistance with the process.