The latest Giving USA numbers on philanthropy in the United States for 2017 are in. We Americans are generous, giving a total of $410.02 billion last year. Some 70% of that came from individuals, up 5.2%. Corporate giving rose by 8.0%.

Broken down by population, we gave $1,165 per capita, with the average U.S. household giving $2,271.

For those of us in the foundation world, the numbers were even better. Giving to foundations saw the largest increase of any sector, at 15.5% over the previous year. And while the generosity of Americans has and will continue to be gratifying, more and more donors expect something more than just a warm feeling when they donate. They expect results. They want to know how their money is being used and that their donations are actually generating the outcomes they’ve been promised.

At the Albuquerque Community Foundation, we’ve been more deliberate than ever in our grantmaking. Beginning in 2016, the Foundation reallocated 5% of endowed assets into investments with a social impact. We committed to a five-year pilot period where up to approximately $2.5 million would be invested in programs providing access to economic opportunities and development, workforce enhancement, education, the environment, affordable housing and financial security for vulnerable families.

We did this because long gone are the days when donors gave with little or no expectation. As such, we invite donor-advised fund holders to join us in receiving investment pitches or presentations from prospective grantees. We also invite individuals who are not currently donors to the Foundation into the grantmaking process.

Our grantmaking now also focuses on organizations providing access to economic opportunities. Our quest is to move beyond treating the symptoms of community issues and focus on the underlying causes. We’re evolving philanthropy by smartly and efficiently moving philanthropic capital to the needs of the community through our collection of data about the programs we fund. We’re investing staff and volunteer time to monitor the organizations and programs we fund. We expect results from them because our donors expect results from us.

Sure, everyone still gets a warm feeling from knowing that their money has gone to a good organization or program that’s helping people. But we get an even warmer feeling knowing that we’re making a demonstrable difference in the community.