Sean Stannard-Stockton is the director of tactical philanthropy at Ensemble Capital Management, a wealth management firm that serves philanthropists. In addition to writing the Tactical Philanthropy blog, Sean authors the Financial Times column On Philanthropy — the only regularly published philanthropy opinion column appearing in a major daily newspaper. Sean holds a degree in economics from the University of California, Davis as well as the Chartered Financial Analyst (CFA) and Chartered Advisor in Philanthropy (CAP) designations. He is one of only three people known to hold both the CFA and CAP designations and offers a unique synthesis of financial and philanthropic expertise.
In his position at Ensemble Capital, Sean works with new and established philanthropists. He performs two core roles: philanthropic financial planning and philanthropic concierge services. Philanthropic financial planning consists of identifying and implementing the philanthropic vehicles (private foundations, charitable trusts, etc) that best fit each client's multifaceted needs. Philanthropic concierge services involves working with clients to navigate the complex world of philanthropy and connecting them with the people, tools, organizations and resources that can help them achieve their goals.
After launching Tactical Philanthropy in 2006, Sean emerged as a philanthropic thought leader on the national stage. He is a member of the World Economic Forum's Global Agenda Council on Philanthropy and Social Investing. This group of 15 thought leaders gathers in Dubai each year to help set the agenda for the World Economic Forum's annual meeting in Davos, Switzerland. Sean is also an advisory member of the Working Group for Effective Social Investing. This small group of social sector leaders includes Paul Brest, president of the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Brian Gallagher, president of the United Way of America among others.
Sean speaks and writes frequently about philanthropy. His writing has appeared in the Financial Times, the Chronicle of Philanthropy, the Stanford Social Innovation Review, Wealth Manager Magazine and the book Mapping the New World of American Philanthropy as well as other print and online publications. Sean regularly speaks publicly on many different philanthropic issues. His past engagements include the Council on Foundations Community Foundations Conference, the Yale School of Management Philanthropy Conference and the Social Capital Markets Conference. Sean also hosts and moderates the Tactical Philanthropy Forum, an offline gathering of the Tactical Philanthropy Community to engage in conversation with social sector leaders.
Sean is quoted regularly in the media and his work has been the subject of various media coverage. He has been quoted or referenced in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Financial Times, The San Francisco Chronicle, The Chronicle of Philanthropy and many other media outlets as well as in the books We Are the New Radicals and CauseWired.