There are thousands of people around the world with the last name Kesselman. We are inviting members of this large group of individuals to work together:
(1) To identify their highest mutual funding priorities; (2) To pledge a one-year charitable contribution of $100 that, combined with others’, will make up the 12-month grantmaking corpus of The Kesselman Foundation; (3) To work together via interactive website to support and/or initiate special programs and projects; and (4) To use their grant funds, when possible, to leverage additional charitable contributions to the causes and projects they have chosen to support.
Anyone can make a charitable contribution. The power and influence of a Foundation comes from its significantly larger grant making capability, focusing its resources in a strategic way, and leveraging its funding by encouraging others to give to an effort whose success is more likely because it has the necessary funds to achieve its goals and objectives.
The Kesselman Foundation has the potential to allow for a first-year grant making budget of $50,000 – $100,000. Board members will be responsible for allocating grants that can have meaningful impact.
It is in the interest of The Kesselman Foundation to leverage as many additional dollars as possible to the social areas and projects we choose to support. Our international board will bring significant and varied professional experience to the process, and the social challenges we confront will be met by a perspective appropriate to an increasingly interconnected global community. To the extent our challenge grants are successful, the total grant making activity attributable to the Foundation will be increased accordingly.
The Kesselman Foundation is an experiment in democratizing philanthropy, giving an individual donor with limited resources the financial influence and considerable leveraging power of a large and professionally-staffed grant making foundation.
Please contact Michael Kesselman if you would like to consider joining this international pilot project.