Includes bibliographical references (p. [321]-334) and index.

1: Foundations: what they do and how they do it -- The third great force: America's civic sector -- Why they give -- The foundation's mission: the highest use of philanthropic capital -- Foundation strategy in principle -- Foundation strategy in practice -- 2: Achieving impact: leadership, focus, alignment, and measurement -- High-impact initiatives: twelve case studies -- 3: What ails the foundations: transparency and accountability -- Steps to achieve high impact: a commonsense approach to strategy -- Characteristics of high-impact programs: leaderships, focus, alignment, and measurement -- How foundations fail -- Three essentials: discipline, boundaries, and persistence -- Should foundations be permitted to exist in perpetuity? -- Enhancing foundation effectiveness: some not-so-modest proposals -- A prophetic epilogue: philanthropy in the twenty-first century.