Center for High Impact Philanthropy

What Center for High Impact Philanthropy does

The Center for High Impact Philanthropy (CHIP) is a university-affiliated, nonprofit research and education center housed within the University of Pennsylvania's School of Social Policy & Practice (SP2) at 3815 Walnut Street, Philadelphia. Founded in 2006 and now in its 20th year, CHIP produces evidence-based guidance for individual donors, professional grantmakers, philanthropic and donor advisors, and emerging social-impact leaders. Its core offerings include an annual High Impact Giving Toolkit, a suite of cause-specific primers (Health in Mind, The XX Factor, Choosing Change, We the People, Early School Success, Guaranteed Income, Four Philanthropic Plays, Talent for Giving), applied research reports (e.g., 'Demystifying Program-Related Investing'), and the High Impact Philanthropy Academy certificate program. The COVID-19 Regional Response Dashboard, which analyzed over $40 million in grants from 13 Philadelphia-area relief funds, illustrates the center's data-product capability.

CHIP's business model is a hybrid academic-and-knowledge-publication operation. Most guidance content — toolkits, research briefs, primers — is distributed free of charge through the impact.upenn.edu website and multi-channel marketing (social, email, webinars, earned media, podcasts). Monetized streams include tuition from the cohort-based High Impact Philanthropy Academy (offered twice yearly in both virtual and Penn-campus formats), institutional support from Penn SP2, and project-specific foundation sponsorship (e.g., Vanguard for the 20th anniversary event; Lenfest and William Penn for the COVID dashboard; Gates Foundation for Talent for Giving). The center is led by Founding Executive Director Katherina 'Kat' Rosqueta, who also chairs Candid's board; Eileen Heisman (former National Philanthropic Trust CEO) joined as a Senior Fellow in March 2025. Research and programmatic partnerships extend across Penn's 12 schools and externally to Wharton Impact, Social Finance Institute, Lever for Change, Women Moving Millions, Raikes Foundation, and Women of the World Endowment, positioning CHIP as an interdisciplinary convener in the philanthropy sector.

Name

Center for High Impact Philanthropy

Legal name

Center for High Impact Philanthropy – University of Pennsylvania

Website

https://impact.upenn.edu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

The Center for High Impact Philanthropy is a University of Pennsylvania academic center that produces free, evidence-based toolkits, applied research, and the High Impact Philanthropy Academy certificate program for individual donors, professional grantmakers, and philanthropic advisors.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Philanthropy Advisory and Education

NAICS

Grantmaking and Giving Services (81321), Religious, Grantmaking, Civic, Professional, and Similar Organizations (813)

SIC

Investment Advice (6282)

akta.pro primary industry

Philanthropy & Foundations Advisory (Donor-Advised Funds, Endowments) (FSAAABAH)

akta.pro secondary industries

Charitable Giving & Philanthropic Trust Advisory (FSAEAKAH), Family Offices & Philanthropic Advisors (Grantmaking) (BPAGAKAD), Impact Investment & Social Finance Programs (BPADAOAJ)

Keywords

• Philanthropy research
• High impact giving
• Grantmaker education
• Social impact guidance
• Philanthropy toolkits

Headquarters

HQ city

Philadelphia

HQ country

United States

HQ region

North America

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Education Program Tuition: Revenue from certificate programs such as High Impact Philanthropy Academy, which runs twice yearly with both virtual and in-person options. Tuition-based with early-bird pricing mentioned.
2. University Funding: Operating as a center within University of Pennsylvania's School of Social Policy & Practice, funded through institutional support.
3. Sponsorship: Sponsors support guidance publications; Vanguard Group sponsored March 4th for Impact event; foundation underwriting for specific projects like the COVID dashboard (Lenfest and William Penn foundations).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

The Center for High Impact Philanthropy provides evidence-based knowledge products and education programs that help individual donors and professional grantmakers practice high-impact philanthropy. Core offerings include the annual High Impact Giving Toolkit, the High Impact Philanthropy Academy certificate program, applied research reports, and issue-specific guidance resources covering education, health, financial security, democracy, and crisis response.

Product overview

The Center for High Impact Philanthropy is a university-based center at the University of Pennsylvania offering knowledge and education on high-impact philanthropy. The organization provides a portfolio of products including the annual High Impact Giving Toolkit (covering annual giving guidance), specialized guidance resources (Health in Mind for mental health, The XX Factor for gender equity, Four Philanthropic Plays), research reports (Demystifying Program-Related Investing), data tools (Regional COVID-19 Response Dashboard), and the High Impact Philanthropy Academy certificate program. These offerings work together to help individual donors and institutional grantmakers practice evidence-based philanthropy for social impact.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• High Impact Giving Toolkit Annual giving toolkit providing donors and funders with actionable guidance for high impact philanthropy year-round, featuring evidence-based strategies and nonprofit examples across issue areas including education, health, financial security, and disaster response.
• High Impact Philanthropy Academy Certificate program for individual donors, professional grantmakers, and other philanthropic leaders seeking greater impact, offered through cohort-based instruction at the University of Pennsylvania campus and virtually, running twice yearly.
• Health in Mind Guide to help donors address mental health and addiction, providing evidence-based strategies and philanthropic opportunities for funders in the mental health space.
• Regional COVID-19 Response Dashboard Interactive dashboard analyzing over $40 million in grant awards from 13 regional COVID-19 relief funds in Greater Philadelphia, showing how community needs were addressed during the pandemic.
• The XX Factor Framework and guidebook exploring how philanthropists and investors can align donations and investments to improve women's lives through five dimensions, including the companion Women's Index report.
• Talent for Giving Multiyear guidebook and project for building teams to help high-net-worth donors do more good with their giving, developed with support from the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Philanthropic Partnerships team.
• Choosing Change Toolkit Toolkit developed with Lever for Change to help funders assess proposals through the lens of structural inequality and address systemic barriers in philanthropic practice.
• Demystifying Program-Related Investing: Lessons from Recent Adopters Research brief and full paper distilling lessons from 36 U.S. foundations that began making Program-Related Investments between 2016 and 2023, providing practical guidance for foundations considering PRI adoption.
• Four Philanthropic Plays Guidance resource on strategic approaches for philanthropy, featured by Devex as part of collective action strategies for funders.
• Advising for Impact Certificate Program Certificate program for philanthropic advisors working with high-net-worth clients seeking evidence-based guidance on strategic philanthropy.
• Advanced Topics in Philanthropy: NPL Course University course covering advanced topics in philanthropy delivered as part of Penn's Non-Profit Leadership curriculum.

Quantifiable outcome

• COVID-19 Response Dashboard analyzed over $40 million in grants from 13 regional relief funds
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Social Finance InstitutecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 March 2026Partnership for research on Program-Related Investments (PRIs). Collaborated on 'Demystifying Program-Related Investing: Lessons from Recent Adopters' report, which distilled lessons from 36 U.S. foundations that began making PRIs between 2016 and 2023.
• Impact Investing Research Lab at Wharton SchoolcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 March 2026Co-research partner on PRI study. Led by Maoz (Michael) Brown, Director of Impact Research, Evaluation, and Learning at Wharton Impact. Research conducted as part of the Impact, Value, and Sustainable Business Initiative at the Wharton School.
• Vanguard GroupminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 4 March 2026Sponsor of March 4th for Impact event celebrating CHIP's 20th anniversary. Event brought together CHIP community including staff, students, partners, and alumni.
• Women Moving MillionscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative effort on impact definition analysis examining how different stakeholders define and understand 'impact' in philanthropy. Produced framework with three key questions to guide donor decision-making.
• Lever for ChangecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership to develop the Choosing Change Toolkit, which guides funders on assessing proposals through the lens of structural inequality. Lever for Change is a nonprofit affiliate of the MacArthur Foundation.
• Women of the World EndowmentminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration on The XX Factor guidebook and Women's Index report, exploring how philanthropists and investors can align donations and investments to improve women's lives through five dimensions.
• Spotify (School of Social Policy & Practice)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPenn SP2 partnered with Spotify on innovative podcast course 'Just Economics' exploring how policies and labor markets work. Features CHIP's Kat Rosqueta alongside Ioana Marinescu.
• CandidcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerKat Rosqueta serves as chair of Candid's board of directors. Partnership for alumni workshops helping CHIP community use Candid platform more strategically. Candid is the largest source of data on nonprofit and philanthropic sectors.
• Philanthropy Network Greater PhiladelphiacoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTasked by Philanthropy Network Greater Philadelphia to create the COVID-19 Philanthropy Dashboard showing how community needs were addressed. Dashboard analyzed over $40 million in grants from 13 regional relief funds.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Lilly Family School of Philanthropy (Indiana University): Academic school dedicated to the study and teaching of philanthropy, offering certificates and degrees. Closely comparable to CHIP's Academy certificate model and research-driven approach to effective giving.
• National Center for Family Philanthropy: Nonprofit focused on family philanthropy education and resources. Comparable as a peer education/community organization serving individual donors and family foundation grantmakers with research and toolkits.
• Stanford Center on Philanthropy and Civil Society (Stanford PACS): Stanford's university-based center studying philanthropy and civil society with research, convening, and education programs. Directly comparable as a peer university-affiliated philanthropy research and education hub competing for academic credibility and donor mindshare.
• Hauser Institute for Civil Society (Harvard Kennedy School): Harvard-based institute researching nonprofits, philanthropy, and civil society. Comparable as a peer Ivy-affiliated academic center producing philanthropy research and engaging professional grantmakers.
• Center for Effective Philanthropy: Independent research and advisory organization focused on foundation effectiveness. Directly comparable in providing evidence-based guidance and assessment tools to professional grantmakers.
• Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy: University-based philanthropy center producing applied research, professional development, and community engagement. Closely comparable as a peer university-embedded philanthropy research and education center.

Broad incumbents

• The Bridgespan Group: Consultancy advising nonprofits, philanthropists, and social impact organizations. Comparable on advising high-impact philanthropy strategy, but operating at consulting scale across multiple practice areas.
• Arabella Advisors: Large philanthropic advisory firm serving individual donors, foundations, and companies on strategic giving. Comparable on advisory services and donor education, but with much broader commercial scale than CHIP.

Emerging players

• Geneva Global: Philanthropic advisory firm helping donors design and implement high-impact giving strategies. Comparable in providing high-impact philanthropy guidance, but operating as a commercial advisory rather than university-affiliated nonprofit.

Others

• Candid (formerly Foundation Center + GuideStar): Largest source of data on nonprofits and foundations, with research and learning tools for grantmakers. Comparable as an ecosystem enabler providing data and learning resources to philanthropists, rather than as a direct competitor.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/Impactsp2
• YouTubeyoutube.com/impactsp2
• Facebookfacebook.com/CenterforHighImpactPhilanthropy
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/center-for-high-impact-philanthropy

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Center for High Impact Philanthropy