Congratulations to the University of Queensland, which launched the UQ Founders Pledge out of its UQ Ventures program! I believe this is the first program in Australia, and appears to be the 14th active program in Higher Ed.

Kudos to the team at Rose-Hulman Institute of Technology in Indiana on the launch of the Sawmill Society! The origin story of this one is fantastic—and if you’re coming to the Engineering Development Forum in San Diego this June, you’ll get to hear it straight from the source. Christian Shuck and I are joining forces to speak about what fundraisers need to know about startups. See you there!

The two most-read posts on the site in 2018 say a lot about where we are w/r/t/ pre-exit philanthropy as a new giving model. Click on the titles below to read (or re-read!) the posts.

#1: What is a ‘Founders Pledge?’

#2: Why it Works: University Research and Pre-Exit Philanthropy

Essentially, we’re in the startup phase, despite the fact that early versions of a pre-liquidity pledge spun up 20 years ago. Fundraisers and executives still need the fundamentals of the model. This pattern also highlights an opportunity to share better info on the economics of startups and the principles of entrepreneurial ecosystems with the Advancement community.

Queens University’s Smith School of Business launched their pre-exit philanthropy program this week, becoming (I think) the 12th active platform in HigherEd, and the second in Canada. Here’s a history of early pre-exit programs.

In this episode of The Philanthropy Podcast, Sean MacCready and I discuss many key aspects of pre-exit philanthropy. Sean is a thoughtful and curious conversationalist. Give his other eps a listen, too, they’re great!

Added new speaking gigs to my rotation for the spring and early summer. I’ll be keynoting a plenary session at the CASE APAC Conference in Brisbane, Australia, and leading a session at Engineering Development Forum, as well as some private sessions with Advancement teams.

Johns Hopkins has kicked off their new pre-exit philanthropy program with an interesting, curated event for entrepreneurs.

This report, available [link] for purchase from the Chronicle of Philanthropy, has a section dedicated to pre-exit philanthropy. I spoke with Drew Lindsay, senior editor at the Chronicle, to share my perspective on this topic.