The Power of Catalytic Philanthropy

The Power of Catalytic Philanthropy: So when you come to the end of the innovations that business and government are willing to invest in, you still find a vast, unexplored space of innovation where the returns can be fantastic. This space is a fertile area for what I call catalytic philanthropy.

Catalytic philanthropy has the high-stakes feel of the private market, but can transcend the key market limitations above: The investor doesn’t need a share of the benefits—those go to poor people, or sick people or society generally, all of whom stand to gain earth-shaking returns from the kind of innovations that business and government likely won’t pursue unless philanthropy goes first. And once you’ve found a solution that works, catalytic philanthropy can harness political and market forces to get those innovations to the people who need them most.