# ROI Driven Philanthropy with Mark Gerson

Page: https://stenobird.com/podcast/innovation-with-mark-peter-davis-1367720/roi-driven-philanthropy-with-mark-gerson
Text version: https://stenobird.com/podcast/innovation-with-mark-peter-davis-1367720/roi-driven-philanthropy-with-mark-gerson.md
Podcast: [Innovation with Mark Peter Davis](https://stenobird.com/podcast/innovation-with-mark-peter-davis-1367720)
Published: 2025-11-19T09:00:00+00:00
Episode link: https://innovationwithmpd.captivate.fm/episode/roi-driven-philanthropy-with-mark-gerson
Audio file: https://episodes.captivate.fm/episode/9058f930-7a20-4132-857b-1f728da5e786.mp3
Processing state: not_requested
JSON: https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/innovation-with-mark-peter-davis-1367720/episodes/roi-driven-philanthropy-with-mark-gerson
Duration seconds: 2763

## Resource

What if you approached philanthropy like a startup? The results might shock you and completely rewire how you think about giving. I sit down with Mark Gerson, Cofounder of GLG (Gerson Lehrman Group) and Cofounder and Chair of 3i Members, to dive deep into how you can treat generosity like a capital allocation decision. We unpack a framework for ROI-driven giving that prioritizes measurable impact over emotional check-writing. Whether you give already or you’re just starting to think about it, this is a practical, purpose-driven guide to doing the most good in a faster and smarter way Special thanks to Mark for joining me on the pod and for all the amazing work he does. ⏱️ Chapter Markers 00:00 – Introduction to Mark Gerson & GLG Origins 02:45 – The Accidental Start of a $650M Business 06:00 – Lessons in Entrepreneurship from GLG’s Growth 08:50 – Why Business Advice is Often Useless 09:30 – The Life-Saving Problem in Global Emergency Response 11:00 – United Hatzalah: Crowdsourcing First Response in Israel 13:30 – Politics, Union Challenges & US Expansion 15:00 – How an Orange Jacket Saves Lives 16:45 – ROI-Driven Philanthropy: Measuring Cost per Life Saved 18:30 – African Mission Healthcare: Saving Lives with $350 C-Sections 21:00 – Partnering with Christian Missionary Doctors 25:00 – Effective Philanthropy vs. Emotional or Prestige Giving 29:00 – The True Definition of Charity & ROI vs. Emotion 32:30 – When and How Much Should You Give? 36:00 – Why Giving Never Makes You Poor 37:45 – Books, Content & Torah as Self-Help 40:00 – 3i: A Crowdsourced Investment + Community Platform 43:00 – How Business & Charity Reinforce Each Other Links Mark Gerson 3i Members , United Hatzalah of Israel , African Mission Healthcare , GLG , Twitter , LinkedIn Books: God…

## Actions

- request_transcript: `POST https://stenobird.com/v1/public/podcasts/innovation-with-mark-peter-davis-1367720/episodes/roi-driven-philanthropy-with-mark-gerson/transcription-requests` — Idempotently request low-priority transcript generation for this episode.
- read_markdown: `GET https://stenobird.com/podcast/innovation-with-mark-peter-davis-1367720/roi-driven-philanthropy-with-mark-gerson.md` — Read the agent-friendly Markdown representation of this episode resource.

A page view does not enqueue transcription. Agents should invoke `request_transcript` explicitly when they need this episode processed.

## Transcript

Full transcripts are not published on public pages unless there is a clear rights basis.