Commonwealth Club of California Podcast Innovative Financing for Innovative Impact: The Future of Humanitarian Assistance
Oct 30, 2025
In this discussion, Janti Soeripto, President and CEO of Save the Children U.S., Fred Koehner, Managing Director at DAF Giving 360, and Caitlin Tulloch, Co-founder of Project Resource Mobilization, delve into the pressing need for innovation in humanitarian finance. They explore strategies like Save the Children's private-first fundraising pivot and emphasize the importance of partnerships for cash assistance. The conversation also highlights the effectiveness of donor-advised funds and the need for evidence-based approaches to maximize philanthropic impact.
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Plan Private-First, Focus On Core Strengths
- Go 'private first' and stop planning on a rapid return to prior government funding levels.
- Janti Soeripto advises focus on core strengths, cost-effective interventions, and partnerships to mobilize private capital.
Blending Philanthropy With Impact Investing
- Save the Children uses impact investing and a multiplier fund to crowd in innovation from social enterprises.
- Janti says these bets won't replace lost grants immediately but can mobilize significant targeted capital like a $100M education fund.
Compare Interventions, Not Organizations
- Use cost-effectiveness at the intervention level, not organization level, to guide philanthropic choices.
- Caitlin Tulloch recommends donors define desired outcomes and fund proven interventions that achieve them.