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Due diligence is standard practice before a private equity firm commits capital to a company. Jean-Pierre Conte argues in a recent Forbes Business Council column that the same process belongs in philanthropy, where donors often commit money with far less scrutiny than they would apply to any other financial decision. Conte, founder and managing partner of his family office, Lupine Crest Capital, makes the case for treating charitable giving with comparable rigor.
His argument starts with a simple observation: many donors give based on emotional appeal or personal connection without examining whether an organization is actually equipped to use the money effectively. Conte suggests that gap between intention and outcome is where a business background becomes genuinely useful.
What Due Diligence Looks Like in Philanthropy
An organization’s track record, leadership, and measurable outcomes are examined before significant support is committed, mirroring the process an investor would use before backing a company. He argues this produces better allocation of philanthropic capital overall, since donors direct resources toward organizations with demonstrated ability to deliver results rather than the ones with the most compelling initial pitch.
He connects this to identifying where a donor can have outsized impact, a concept borrowed directly from investing, where the goal isn’t simply participation but meaningful influence on the outcome.
The Cost of Skipping This Step
Conte notes what tends to happen when donors skip due diligence: money flows to organizations with strong storytelling rather than strong execution, and the gap between the two isn’t always visible from the outside. Applying an investor’s scrutiny before committing significant support, he argues, is one of the few checks available to a donor who wants to know the difference before the funds are already spent.
Willingness to Make Hard Calls
Conte extends the parallel further, noting that hands-on philanthropic involvement sometimes requires difficult leadership decisions, not just financial support. He points to his own experience with Sponsors for Educational Opportunity San Francisco as an example of applying that willingness in practice.
Diligence Does Not End at the First Gift
Conte draws a distinction between diligence performed once, before an initial donation, and diligence maintained afterward. An investor doesn’t stop monitoring a company’s performance the moment a check clears, and Conte argues donors should hold themselves to the same ongoing standard, checking periodically whether an organization is still delivering the outcomes that justified the original commitment in the first place.
More of Conte’s writing on philanthropy and investment strategy is available through his Forbes Business Council profile and LinkedIn, both linked below.
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