Calvin Edwards & Company is a donor advisory consulting firm. We help affluent persons, family offices, private foundations, and government agencies maximize the good they achieve through strategic giving. We perform organizational, program, and grant evaluations on the local, national, and international level.

Although a significant number of financial planners, tax advisors, and lawyers are available to help high net worth families move money into private foundations, charitable remainder trusts, and planned giving instruments—very few organizations work to help move money out of foundations and into the hands of nonprofits and ministries.

Before making a grant, the number of choices and decisions before donors is enormous, and questions arise at every step: Who is the best recipient of a gift? Is it better to give money domestically or internationally? How much should be given? Should repeated gifts be given or only a one-time gift? Is it better to give smaller gifts to many groups or focus on just a few groups? How does one stop giving once started? What stipulations should one require for a gift? What rights does one have as a donor?

Hundreds of thousands of nonprofits exist, with new ones appearing constantly. The array of choices can make giving complicated and confusing. The endless number of opportunities can be a source of paralysis, leaving the donor less eager to give.

Making a strategic gift to a nonprofit is more than writing a check. It requires knowing which causes are most important to the donor, which organizations are doing excellent work in a sector, how the gift will be used, which organization can create a high “return“ on the gift, and what programs work.

Every client has a unique set of needs and interests. Correspondingly, we provide a diverse set of philanthropic consulting services. The majority of our services can be grouped under one of four areas: donor consulting & giving strategies, nonprofit & sector research, evaluation & due diligence, and venture philanthropy. Each engagement is customized for the client’s specific situation.

Although many clients select discrete products for their particular needs from our portfolio of services, we also offer a comprehensive program to guide donors through the giving process and to help them maximize the good of their giving.

Because Calvin Edwards & Company is a niche firm, in addition to explaining our services, it is often necessary to emphasize what we do not do. We are not financial advisors and do not perform financial calculations or projections, nor offer advice on tax minimization strategies. We help affluent persons, family offices, and private foundations move money out of foundations, not into them.