Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society (Stanford PACS)

What Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society (Stanford PACS) does

Stanford PACS is a global interdisciplinary research center housed within Stanford University's Graduate School of Education. Founded in 2006, its mission is to develop and share knowledge that improves philanthropy, strengthens civil society, and addresses societal challenges. The center operates as a nonprofit academic unit funded primarily through charitable donations to Stanford University, and it is not structured as a commercial enterprise.

The center's flagship product is the Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR), a publication that disseminates research- and practice-based knowledge on social innovation. Beyond SSIR, Stanford PACS runs multiple research programs — including the Effective Philanthropy Learning Initiative (EPLI), the Digital Civil Society Lab, and the Stanford Project on the Evolution of Nonprofit Sector (SPEN), which maintains 15+ years of longitudinal panel data on 200+ randomly sampled Bay Area nonprofit organizations. Distribution occurs through direct digital access at pacscenter.stanford.edu, email newsletters, books co-published with external academic presses, and convenings such as the Philanthropy Innovation Summit, the PACS-SCANCOR Seminar Series, the Technology, Culture, and Power Speaker Series, and the First Principles Forum.

Stanford PACS serves scholars, philanthropic practitioners, nonprofit leaders, policymakers, and graduate/undergraduate students. Its academic offerings include PhD and Postdoctoral Fellowship Programs, a Small Grants Program, a Junior Scholars Forum, and courses. The center is governed by Faculty Co-Directors Patricia Bromley, Robb Willer, and Rob Reich, with Paul Brest serving as Co-Director; its operational headquarters are located at 450 Jane Stanford Way, Building 160, 4th Floor, Wallenberg Hall, Stanford, California, USA. Strategic partners include SCANCOR at Stanford, the Center for Sustainable Finance and Private Wealth, and Perpetual Asset Management Australia.

Name

Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society (Stanford PACS)

Legal name

Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society

Website

https://pacscenter.stanford.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Stanford PACS is a global interdisciplinary research center within Stanford University's Graduate School of Education that produces the Stanford Social Innovation Review and convenes scholars, philanthropic practitioners, nonprofit leaders, policymakers, and students through research, fellowships, grants, and events.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Academic Research and Social Sector Publishing

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321)

SIC

Services-Social Services (8300)

akta.pro primary industry

Research & Science Grantmaking Foundations (BPAGAKAI)

Keywords

• Philanthropy research
• Civil society studies
• Nonprofit research
• Social innovation publishing
• Academic research center

Headquarters

HQ city

Stanford

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Donations and Gifts: Stanford PACS is funded through charitable donations to Stanford University. The center accepts donations to support operations, expand research, increase the pipeline of scholars and practitioners, and inform practice on pressing social issues. Founded in 2006, the center has operated continuously through donor support.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Stanford PACS is an interdisciplinary academic research center that conducts research, publishes the Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR) and related publications, and operates fellowship, grant, and educational programs for scholars and practitioners. It produces longitudinal research, frameworks, and convenings focused on philanthropy effectiveness, nonprofit organizational practices, and civil society, funded primarily through donations and grants to Stanford University.

Product overview

Stanford PACS is a global interdisciplinary research center and publisher of the Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR). Rather than a unified technology product, it offers a portfolio of research programs, publications, educational programs, and convenings. Key offerings include the Stanford Social Innovation Review publication, research initiatives like the Effective Philanthropy Learning Initiative, Digital Civil Society Lab, and Stanford Project on the Evolution of Nonprofit Sector (SPEN), academic programs including PhD fellowships and small grants, and event series such as the PACS-SCANCOR Seminar Series and Philanthropy Innovation Summit.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR): Publication of the Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society that advances, educates, and inspires the field of social innovation by seeking out, cultivating, and disseminating research- and practice-based knowledge.

Products and services

• Stanford Social Innovation Review (SSIR)
• Effective Philanthropy Learning Initiative (EPLI)
• Digital Civil Society Lab
• Stanford Project on the Evolution of Nonprofit Sector (SPEN)
• Philanthropy Innovation Summit
• PACS-SCANCOR Seminar Series
• Technology, Culture, and Power Speaker Series
• First Principles Forum
• PhD Fellowship Program
• Small Grants Program
• Junior Scholars Forum
• Philanthropy Tools
• Blueprints

Named customers4 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and flagship.

• SCANCOR at StanfordcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2026Stanford PACS partners with SCANCOR (Stanford Center for Organization Research on Cities and Urban Studies) to co-host the annual PACS-SCANCOR Seminar Series on Organization and Organizing for Public Good. This collaboration brings together scholars and practitioners to explore cutting-edge research on civil society and organizational topics.
• Center for Sustainable Finance and Private WealthflagshipStrategic or Co-development PartnerStanford PACS collaborates with the Center for Sustainable Finance and Private Wealth on events and research integrating philanthropy and impact investing. An upcoming event in October 2026 titled 'Integrating Philanthropy & Investing to Maximize Impact' represents a key joint initiative to bridge the philanthropy and finance sectors.
• Perpetual Asset Management AustraliacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe Effective Philanthropy Learning Initiative (EPLI) partnered with Perpetual Asset Management Australia to create an Australian edition of the EPLI Toolkit, making the resource freely available online for Australian philanthropists and practitioners. This international expansion extends the center's geographic reach and impact.
• Stanford Graduate School of EducationflagshipOthersStanford PACS operates as a program under the Stanford Graduate School of Education, leveraging the academic infrastructure, reputation, and resources of Stanford University as a trusted higher-education research institution.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• The Center for Effective Philanthropy: The Center for Effective Philanthropy is the most direct peer to Stanford PACS: a nonprofit research and advisory organization that produces evidence-based research, tools, and surveys to help philanthropists and foundations improve their effectiveness — closely paralleling PACS's Effective Philanthropy Learning Initiative (EPLI) mission and SSIR-style knowledge dissemination.
• Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy: The Lilly Family School of Philanthropy is an academic center-of-excellence dedicated to studying philanthropy and the nonprofit sector; comparable to PACS in combining scholarly research, degree programs, and practitioner engagement around philanthropy and civil society.
• Harvard Kennedy School - Hauser Center for Nonprofit Organizations: The Hauser Center at Harvard Kennedy School historically housed research, teaching, and convening on philanthropy and the nonprofit sector, closely matching PACS's scholar-practitioner model at a peer elite research university.
• Urban Institute - Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy: Urban Institute's Center on Nonprofits and Philanthropy conducts research on the nonprofit sector and philanthropy through policy-relevant empirical studies, paralleling PACS's SPEN-style evidence-generation for the social sector.
• National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy: NCRP conducts research and advocacy on philanthropic effectiveness and accountability — particularly for marginalized communities — sharing PACS's research-then-practice orientation on civil-society issues.

Broad incumbents

• Aspen Institute - Program on Philanthropy and Social Innovation: The Aspen Institute's Program on Philanthropy and Social Innovation convenes foundation leaders and researchers on sector-wide questions, mirroring PACS's convening function; however it sits within a larger multi-program think tank rather than a specialized university center.
• Candid (formerly Foundation Center and GuideStar): Candid is the dominant data, research, and knowledge platform for the philanthropic sector, providing foundation databases and research reports; comparable to the informational backbone PACS contributes via SSIR and SPEN, though at greater commercial scale and scope.
• The Bridgespan Group: Bridgespan is a strategy and impact advisory firm serving foundations and nonprofits with research, consulting, and benchmarking; overlapping with PACS's evidence-based effectiveness work but delivered as paid consulting rather than academic publishing.
• Arabella Advisors: Arabella Advisors is a philanthropy and impact advisory firm that helps donors design, implement, and evaluate giving strategies, mirroring the practical toolkit-style assistance that PACS provides through EPLI and philanthropy resources.

Others

• New America Foundation: New America is a nonpartisan think tank that publishes research across domestic policy including on philanthropy and civil society; comparable institutional form (research-publication-convening) but a broader policy mandate than PACS.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/stanford-pacs

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles6 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors1 record

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society (Stanford PACS)