17 Sept 2025
#204 Do You Have the Requisite Experience to Make Your Money Matter? Learn how the Bullitt Foundation addressed this question when they hire
Denis Hayes, Chairman and President at Bullitt Foundation, returns to share the strategies he implemented for effective grantmaking. Denis explains the importance of legitimacy in philanthropic decision-making, the value of diverse board representation, and how focusing efforts geographically and strategically helped the foundation create a significant impact. Denis also provides insights on the decision to spend down and offers advice for future philanthropists on how to make meaningful, long-lasting contributions to causes they care about.Episode Highlights:Denis’s advice to current and future philanthropists on impactful giving strategiesDenis Hayes Bio:Denis Hayes is an environmentalist and a long-time champion of solar & renewable energy. He rose to prominence in 1970 as the coordinator for the first Earth Day. He subsequently founded the Earth Day Network and expanded the event to 180 nations. Earth Day is now the most widely observed secular holiday in the world. During the Carter Administration, Hayes was director of the federal Solar Energy Research Institute (now the National Renewable Energy Laboratory). Hayes became an adjunct professor of engineering at Stanford University for several years, and also practiced law in Silicon Valley. Since 1992, Hayes has been president of the Bullitt Foundation in Washington and continues to be a leader in environmental and energy policy. He was the principal developer of the Bullitt Center, judged by World Architecture Magazine to be "the greenest office building in the world."Hayes has also served as Executive director of Environmental Action, Director of the Illinois State Energy Office, Visiting Scholar at the Woodrow Wilson International Center for Scholars, Fellow of the Worldwatch Institute, Fellow at the Bellagio Center, and Richard von Weizsäcker Fellow of the Bosch Foundation. Hayes has received the national Jefferson Awards Medal for Outstanding Public Service as well as numerous other awards. Time Magazine named him as "Hero of the Planet" in 1999; the NYT profiled him as its Newsmaker of the Day; and Life Magazine selected him as one of the 100 most influential Americans of the 20th century. His newest book, COWED: The Hidden Impact of 93 Million Cows on America's Health, Economy, Politics, Culture, and Environment, was published by W.W. Norton in 2015.If you enjoyed this episode, listen to these as well: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/203-do-you-have-the-requisite-experience-to-make-your/id1556900518?i=1000674680730https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/121-the-brainerd-foundation-spend-down-strategy-with/id1556900518?i=1000605062550https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/183-promoting-world-peace-with-al-jubitz-patrick/id1556900518?i=1000658428389 Crack the Code: Sybil’s Successful Guide to PhilanthropyBecome even better at what you do as Sybil teaches you the strategies and tools you’ll need to avoid mistakes and make a career out of philanthropy.Sybil offers resources including free mini-course videos, templates, checklists, and words of advice summarized in easy to review pdfs. https://www.doyourgood.com/funders Check out Sybil’s website with all the latest opportunities to learn from Sybil at
