American philanthropy has historically been a solitary pursuit defined by individual donor action and fragmented, uncoordinated grantmaking. But in recent years, foundations have begun to come together in groups to take on shared initiatives and agendas. InCollaborative Philanthropies, Elwood M. Hopkins--himself the executive director of the successful collaborative Los Angeles Urban Funders--argues that these funder collaboratives are more than a collection of isolated experiments. Instead, they provide a window into a dramatic and promising new stage in the development of organized philanthropy. For anyone aspiring to play a leadership role in the philanthropic field, this book lays out a visionary blueprint for smarter, more effective philanthropy in the twenty-first century.