Sharing What Works

Useful things are meant to be shared.

That idea has always been part of how we work. We write guidebooks to share what we've learned so more people can benefit from our mistakes, travel well, and get more out of their experience.

We take the same approach in our giving. A practical tool, a working model, or a resource that solves a problem in one place can also help somewhere else. Often the challenge isn't a lack of good ideas – it's a lack of access in order to learn from what's already been tried. When knowledge doesn't travel, progress slows, even when helpful solutions already exist.

Such public services fit our philanthropy beautifully: Public media that informs and connects people. Free educational materials that bring history, music, and culture into classrooms. Resource hubs and shared practical tools that help community groups and mission-driven organizations figure out how to finance a project, secure a site, or get something off the ground.

These kinds of resources take time and money to build, but when they're widely available, they make it easier for others to take action and solve problems in their own communities. Sometimes that means supporting organizations that already do this well. Sometimes it means creating something ourselves when we don't see it elsewhere. If something works, we're glad when others borrow it, improve it, or take it in a new direction. After all, we're all trying to make things better and there's no reason not to share and to compare notes along the way.

Progress spreads when knowledge does. We grease the skids of progress by funding and amplifying useful ideas, tools, and resources.