Our Mission, Vision & Values

Our Mission

Advancing knowledge about philanthropy

Our Vision

Philanthropy represents an influential realm of activity that has a unique degree of independence from external accountability. Both the enterprise itself and society benefit from ensuring that the decisions and actions of philanthropic activity are thoughtfully documented, made as visible as possible, and benefit from free and critical inquiry.

Our Values

Human-Centered

We respect the dignity, agency, privacy, and expertise of every person who is a part of or interacts with our organization. We foster a culture of empathy and mutual respect, ensuring that our systems and services are designed to be intuitive and supportive. By valuing the unique backgrounds and needs of all our constituents, we fulfill our mission with a commitment to the well-being and success of the people at the heart of our work.

Responsible

We aim to create a sustainable and expansive future by caring for our organization, the archival records we steward, and our world. We responsibly manage our financial resources and support the people whose expertise makes our work possible. We uphold the highest ethical and professional standards in the care and preservation of our collections, ensuring they remain accessible to our global user communities. We manage these resources with a long-term commitment to environmental sustainability, actively working to minimize the ecological impact of our physical facilities and technological infrastructure.

Equitable

We want our collections, services, workplace culture, and facilities to empower and reflect the diverse communities we serve. We proactively dismantle barriers to access and recruitment while evolving our collecting, interpretive, and analytical activities to engage the communities impacted by our work. We design our processes, services, and systems to promote racial, gender, and economic justice, cultural competence, and to address the structural imbalances inherent in historical documentation.

Adaptive

We believe that progress is more important than perfection. Therefore, we embrace change as a fundamental component of our work, intentionally adopting new technologies and processes that extend our reach and enhance users’ experiences. We regularly review our policies and systems to reflect new thinking and remain responsive to evolving circumstances. We foster collaboration because we believe that multiple perspectives and experiences bring value to our work.

Trustworthy

We build trust through transparency, accountability, and institutional independence. Through the ethical application of technology, professional standards, and intentional development of processes, we ensure that our systems and services are built on a foundation of observability, integrity, and a commitment to clear, actionable feedback. In support of those who create new knowledge, we uphold the primacy of free exploration and inquiry.