About the Sillerman Center
Letter from the Director
WELCOME TO THE NEW SILLERMAN CENTER FOR THE ADVANCEMENT OF PHILANTHROPY . The creation of this Center is a result of the incredible generosity and vision of Robert ‘69 and Laura Sillerman. Robert is a 1969 alumnus of Brandeis and has explained their reasons for the gift eloquently.
"I was immensely fortunate to be a child of the 1960s at Brandeis where I formed a strong sense of social consciousness. Laura and I hope that this gift inspires others from our generation to make similar donations. Our generation has the responsibility to follow through on the ideals we voiced in our youth and to attempt to change the world in ways we could only imagine in the 1960s. It is our time now to give generously."
Robert Sillerman
We take his words to heart. At the Sillerman Center, we will assist family foundations and individual donors in being more strategic and impactful with their giving. We intend to use the existing strengths at the Heller School for Social Policy and Management and Brandeis University to help foundations and philanthropists better understand research in their areas of giving and provide them with the tools to be an effective voice in improving policies. The Heller’s School’s mission of knowledge advancing social justice will be brought to bear as the Center seeks to engage with and assist with community based and activist philanthropy, sometimes called social justice philanthropy. I will be commenting more on this niche as the Center develops.
The Sillerman Center is in its early stages. The field of philanthropy has many organizations, consulting firms, advisory services and other Centers who work on the general theme of improving donor strategies. We want to selectively target our unique skills to best help family foundations and individual donors without duplicating services and supports that already exist. Our team has had conversations with foundation board members, foundation staff, prominent academics, philanthropic consultants and other influential leaders in the field of philanthropy as we hone what the future will look like for Center activities. As we reach out to the field, it has been wonderful to observe the considerable interest in our Center. I will soon be able to announce exciting partnerships with groups working, as we are, to advance philanthropy.
On the academic side, our plans call for infusing existing courses at Brandeis with information about philanthropy, developing new courses and creating executive education seminars and workshops. Doctoral students are receiving Sillerman awards to further their research relating to the philanthropic center.
We will also be available to work with individuals and family foundations on program evaluation, social policy impact, social activism and community based giving. Internships in philanthropy settings for our students are also on the drawing board.
We are on a roll and I look forward to the official start of the Center on Tuesday, January 29, 2008 in the afternoon where we both honor the Sillermans and unveil the Center with a lecture by Joel Fleishman, Duke University, an author, scholar and intellect on the challenges of philanthropy and the role of foundations in contemporary civic life.
Sincerely,
Andrew Hahn, PhD ‘78
Director
Sillerman Center for the Advancement of Philanthropy
