Billions of Drops in Millions of Buckets | Steven Goldberg

Billions of Drops in Millions of Buckets: Why Philanthropy Doesn't Advance Social Progress

Extended Synopsis

Despite record levels of charitable giving and nonprofit innovation, the needle of social progress has remained frustratingly static for millions of American families. In Billions of Drops in Millions of Buckets, Steven H. Goldberg identifies a stubborn disconnection between funding and results as the core of the problem. Currently, the U.S. nonprofit capital market haphazardly distributes over $300 billion annually among more than two million competing nonprofits, rarely rewarding the most effective organizations with the growth capital they desperately need.

Goldberg meticulously details the debilitating financial constraints preventing high-performing nonprofits from achieving meaningful reductions in poverty, illiteracy, and violence. Drawing on historical evidence, economic analysis, and extensive case studies, he makes a compelling case for a performance-driven capital allocation system. By proposing the creation of a virtual nonprofit stock market based on the "wisdom of crowds," Goldberg outlines a transformative pathway to help engaged social investors efficiently find and fund the organizations best positioned to achieve optimal social scale.

Reader Targeting

• Social entrepreneurs and nonprofit managers seeking strategies for sustainable organizational growth.
• Philanthropists, grant-makers, and impact investors interested in performance-based funding models.
• Students and professionals in public policy, macroeconomics, and social science disciplines.

About the Author

Steven H. Goldberg is an expert in the emerging fields of social entrepreneurship and nonprofit capital markets. His work focuses on integrating rigorous economic analysis with social impact initiatives, challenging conventional orthodoxies of charitable fundraising to advocate for intelligent, performance-driven philanthropy.

Accolades & Awards

Billions of Drops in Millions of Buckets has been widely praised by leading voices in social enterprise and philanthropic reform:

• "A must-read romp through emerging fields of social entrepreneurship and nonprofit capital markets." — George Overholser, Founder and Managing Director, NFF Capital Partners
• "Provides a bracing and original look at philanthropy that offers a much-needed corrective to conventional wisdom." — Jerr Boschee, Founder and Executive Director, The Institute for Social Entrepreneurs
• "He presents compelling ideas for making the social sector vastly more effective." — Christopher Meyer, Chief Executive, Monitor Networks

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