“Money Well Spent: A Strategic Guide to Smart Philanthropy,” has just been published by Paul Brest, who runs the Hewlett Foundation, and Hal Harvey. Matthew has written a review of the book in The Economist, and praises how it “dispenses practical advice to aspiring philanthropists and provides examples of the ways they can influence the world.”

We are big fans of Brest. In our chapter on philanthrocapitalism at foundations established before the recent boom in philanthropy, which we lightheartedly call “The Return of the Living Dead”, we celebrate his efforts to improve the effectiveness of giving by being more open about when it fails. In particular, he has introduced an annual competition among Hewlett staff to identify the worst grant from which they learnt most. The winner gets a slap up meal. Here is philanthrocapitalism that every foundation should embrace.

Brest is now blogging in the Huffington Post. The founder of the increasingly popular eponymous online newspaper, Arianna Huffington, is also mentioned in our book, for her proposal for a “virtue remix” of the Slate 60 list of big givers, to look not just at how much wealthy philanthropists give, but also the importance of the cause and the effectiveness of the giving. She should revive the idea on her website, as it is very much in the spirit of philanthrocapitalism.