Dimple Abichandani
San Francisco Bay Area, CA
Website
LinkedIn
Contact: dimple.abichandani@gmail.com
she/her
Most often works with: Family Foundations, Private Foundations, Community Foundations, Individual Donors/DAF Holders, Intermediary Grantmaking Organizations, Pooled Fund/Donor Circle, Philanthropy Serving Organizations
Challenges most often addressed:
Partnering with foundations, individual donors, and boards to modernize philanthropic practice, helping institutions shift from outdated models toward more responsive, proximate, and impactful approaches to resourcing change
Working with foundation boards on governance and structural alignment and supporting funder communities of practice in the U.S. South and internationally to accelerate cross-organizational learning and change
Using insights from her book, A New Era of Philanthropy, and advisory work (keynotes, convenings, and consulting) to help funders move from traditional charitable giving toward transformational, systems-level impact
Dimple Abichandani is a nationally recognized foundation leader, philanthropic advisor, social justice lawyer and author of A New Era of Philanthropy: Ten Practices to Transform Wealth Into a More Just and Sustainable Future, which reimagines how philanthropy can meet this moment of democratic crisis and accelerating inequality. For two decades, Dimple has brought innovation and new purpose to funding institutions. She currently works with foundations, individual donors, and boards to navigate the challenges and opportunities defining philanthropy today, helping institutions evolve from outdated practices toward more responsive, proximate, and impactful approaches to resourcing change.
As Executive Director of the General Service Foundation (2015–2022), she aligned the foundation's grantmaking, investments, and governance with justice values. She was the founding director of the Rise Together Fund, a donor collaborative at the Proteus Fund that advances a multiracial democracy by investing in communities targeted by Islamophobia. She also led the Center for Social Justice at UC Berkeley School of Law, where she founded a Social Justice Innovation Lab to bring multidisciplinary approaches to solving systemic challenges.
Dimple's leadership has been recognized with a Scrivener Award for Creative Grantmaking and a National Center for Family Philanthropy Fellowship. She serves on the Board of Directors of Solidaire Network and has served on the boards and steering committees of the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project, Northern California Grantmakers, and Grantmakers Concerned with Immigrants and Refugees.
