While philanthropy is a difficult endeavor to speak broadly about, there are several ways that donors can be highly effective in their giving, Thomas J. Tierney, a nonprofit consultant, told members of the Philanthropy Roundtable during its annual meeting last week.

Mr. Tierney, who is chairman of the Bridgespan Group, in Boston, said his organization is working on an article about the common traits of successful foundations that will likely be published in the November issue of The Harvard Business Review.

The shared qualities include:

Be clear about the mission.

Mr. Tierney suggested that donors state in simple terms what their goals are and how they will measure them. He encouraged foundations to require grant recipients do the same, helping charities define their geographic focus, the population they want to assist, a time line for their efforts, and clear set of goals to...

At last week’s Philanthropy Roundtable conference, two speakers squared off on the issue of how much the nonprofit world can mirror big business.

Dan Pallotta, a former fund raiser and author of Uncharitable, argued that charity leaders are unfairly held to a different standard than corporate ones. For example, they are vilified if they receive good salaries, spend a lot of money on marketing, or take experimental approaches that may produce big dividends.

“You put the nonprofit sector at an extreme disadvantage to the for-profit sector,” he said.

He said the heart of the problem comes from the Puritans who helped found America. They fostered a culture that requires “self-deprivation” to help the less-fortunate, which leads to the expectation that charities, especially social services, should pay modest salaries and have little overhead costs.

Breaking such cultural barriers...

President Obama has established policies that limit free enterprise and is starting to do the same with philanthropy, a panel said at the Philanthropy Roundtable conference.

Arthur C. Brooks, president of the American Enterprise Institute, a conservative think tank in Washington, said Mr. Obama has increased government control of business with his bailout of General Motors and other decisions.

The White House proposal to limit the charitable deduction for wealthy Americans, Mr. Brooks said, is a sign that the president would like to see greater regulation of philanthropy as well.

(The president suggested limiting itemized deductions, including charitable donations, to pay for a health-care overhaul and predicted it would not have a significant effect on giving.)

The nonprofit world should expect “probes into traditional philanthropic policy,” Mr. Brooks said. He encouraged ...

How dependent should charities be on government dollars? Two speakers at the Philanthropy Roundtable meeting debated this question.

Diana Aviv, chief executive of Independent Sector, a Washington coalition of charities and grant makers, said there should be a “healthy skepticism” about government’s involvement with nonprofit groups. But government and charities have a strong partnership, pointing to the large amount of public dollars that support nonprofit social services and charities that play in natural disasters like Hurricane Katrina.

“Government is highly dependent on the charitable sector” to fulfill its civic responsibilities.

She said that despite the relationship, charities largely maintain their independence and can speak out against state or federal policies they oppose.

But the Rev. Robert A. Sirico, president of the Acton Institute for the Study of Religion...

Michael L. Lomax, chief executive of the United Negro College Fund, called on philanthropists to support new nonprofit efforts that seek radical changes in the U.S. school system.

“The role of philanthropy is to invest in the innovative disruptive model,” he told participants at the Philanthropy Roundtable.

He specifically pointed to Teach for America, which recruits college graduates to teach in public schools, and the Knowledge Is Power Program, or KIPP, which is a network of charter schools.

Teach for America, in New York, is training a new generation of educators who challenge the orthodoxy of public education, said Mr. Lomax, adding that traditional teacher colleges are “guardians of the status quo.”

He said KIPP has shown that students from poor and minority neighborhoods can achieve academic success when held to high standards.

In addition to those programs, he...

While saying that he is not an expert in philanthropy, the management guru Jim Collins offered suggestions for how a philanthropist can strive past being mediocre at a session at the Philanthropy Roundtable meeting in Colorado.

Mr. Collins is author of Good to Great, which looked at what distinguishes successful businesses from others, and a new book, How the Mighty Fall And Why Some Companies Never Give In, which examines how companies excel even in a crisis.

Organizations that thrive in tough times have an established “culture of discipline” and do not use an uncertain environment as an excuse to not push forward with missions.

Given the economic downturn, foundations should not “waste the opportunities for impact” and should set BHAGs — big, hairy, audacious goals.

But to achieve widespread social change it takes small, consistent steps that pay off over decades, he said....

The Philanthropy Roundtable kicked off its annual meeting this week with more than 400 participants gathering in Colorado Springs, Colo.

Adam Meyerson, president of the Washington coalition of grant makers and philanthropists, started the three-day meeting by offering brief eulogies about three people who died recently and who greatly influenced philanthropy.

He praised scientist Norman Borlaug for his role in creating the so-called green revolution, a foundation-supported agriculture project that helped feed millions of people in India and elsewhere.

He also spoke about Donald Fisher, the co-founder of the Gap clothing-store chain. Mr. Meyerson applauded the businessman’s philanthropic support for Knowledge Is Power Program, or KIPP, a network of charter schools.

Finally, the Philanthropy Roundtable leader hailed the work of Irving Kristol, the conservative writer. While Mr. ...

Former president Bill Clinton’s annual philanthropy meeting, which was held in New York last week, raised more than $9.4-billion in philanthropic gifts and other types of charitable commitments.

While organizers of the event had predicted the bad economy would hamper pledges this year, the amount is larger than in 2008, when Mr. Clinton generated $8-billion.

The commitments can take many forms, including changes in corporate practices that have an environmental benefit, which the donor provides an estimated dollar value to. This means that the dollar figure represents some cash in hand as well as money that needs to be generated in some fashion.

In total, Mr. Clinton estimates that since 2005 his conference has garnered $57-billion to fight social and environmental problems.

The former president prides himself on the fact that the meeting does not invite participants to...

While many celebrities give their voice to a cause, the music star Usher says he is putting his money where his mouth is — pledging $1-million to help youth around the world.

“My contribution is a reminder to all whom I’ve influenced that I’m not just talking the talk, I’m actually walking the walk,” the singer said in an interview with The Chronicle at the Clinton Global Initiative. “I’m going to make this donation to show you that I’m serious.”

The gift will support Powered by Service, a new effort announced at the Clinton meeting and run by Usher’s Atlanta charity. The project will provide $500 grants to young people ages 12 to 20 to get involved in fighting malaria, ending drug use, or other charitable work.

The grantees will be picked by a team of eight young people, who are graduates of a summer camp that Usher started to teach kids about the entertainment and sports...

Former president Bill Clinton gave cautious support for a new Senate plan that would limit charitable deductions — an idea that has been harshly criticized by nonprofit groups.

Several Democratic members of the Senate Finance Committee this month proposed limiting to 35 percent the tax break that wealthy Americans can get for their itemized deductions, including gifts to charity. The revenue generated by it would pay for changes in the nation’s health-care system.

The American Association of Museums, the Association of Fundraising Professionals, the Council on Foundations, and other nonprofit groups are fighting the congressional effort, saying it would hurt fund raising at a time when the recession is already taking a toll on giving.

In a wide-ranging interview with The Chronicle and other newspapers during the Clinton Global Initiative, Mr. Clinton said that he disliked a plan...