#193 | Beyond Giving: Building Philanthropy That Actually Moves Resources W/ Jaimi Cortes

In this episode of the Contagious Culture Podcast, Kyle King sits down with Jaimi Cortes, (  / jaimi-cortes  ) philanthropic strategist with COR Philanthropic Strategies (https://www.corphilanthropy.com/) , who has spent more than 20 years helping individuals, families, foundations, and organizations move resources in thoughtful, values-aligned, and community-centered ways. Jaimi shares how her early experiences in philanthropy shaped her belief that giving should begin with community, trust, and listening. She explains why philanthropy must move beyond traditional check-writing and toward more collaborative, strategic, and equity-centered approaches. Kyle and Jaimi also discuss donor intent versus meaningful impact, giving circles, collaborative philanthropy, donor-advised funds, impact investing, nonprofit relationship-building, and how both donors and nonprofit leaders can build stronger partnerships that lead to real transformation. Key Topics: • How Jaimi found her way into philanthropy • Why community should come first in giving • The evolution of philanthropy over the last 20 years • Moving from charitable intent to meaningful impact • How donors can give more strategically • The power of collaborative philanthropy and giving circles • Using the five T’s of philanthropy • Why values alignment matters before giving • How donors can build trust with nonprofits • Why impact conversations should happen at the beginning • How nonprofits can build relationships with donor advisors • Why capital campaign relationships should start years before the ask • Impact investing and using money for double good Episode History 00:00 — Introduction 00:20 — Meet Jaimi Cortes 01:00 — Moving from good intentions to meaningful impact 01:45 — Jaimi’s entry point into philanthropy 02:30 — Learning community-first philanthropy 03:00 — What Jaimi believed early in her career 03:45 — Corporate social responsibility and early inspiration 04:45 — Working directly with donors 05:30 — Gender lens, race equity lens, and equity frameworks 06:00 — Collaborative philanthropy and giving circles 06:45 — Where new donors should begin 07:00 — The five T’s of philanthropy 08:00 — Volunteering, social capital, and family giving 09:00 — Strategic giving for donors with significant wealth 09:45 — Charitable intent versus meaningful impact 10:30 — Why donors get stuck after setting aside money 11:00 — Building impact conversations at the beginning 12:00 — Trust-based giving and nonprofit relationships 13:00 — How organizations can showcase impact up front 14:00 — Making an impact inside large organizations 15:00 — Case managers, mental health, and targeted giving 16:00 — Questions donors should ask themselves before giving 17:00 — Values alignment and philanthropic priorities 18:00 — Impact investing and donor-advised funds 19:30 — How nonprofits can build relationships with donors and advisors 20:30 — Donor-advised funds and philanthropic advisors 21:30 — Why capital campaign relationships must start early Jaimi's Bio Jaimi Cortes is a philanthropic strategist with COR Philanthropic Strategies, where she helps individuals, families, foundations, and organizations move resources in ways that are thoughtful, values-aligned, and community-centered. With more than 20 years of experience in philanthropy, Jaimi has helped facilitate over $200 million in charitable gifts, manage major philanthropic portfolios, design grant-making models, support impact investing opportunities, and guide donors from good intentions to meaningful impact. -- Learn More About the Contagious Culture Conference (https://spreadcontagiousculture.com/) Subscribe & Leave a Review to The Contagious Culture Podcast Subscribe to Apple Podcasts (https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast...) 📞 Schedule Your Call Here (https://links.theculturelab.org/widge...) 🖥️ Join the #1 Community for Leaders and Change Makers (https://the-growth-lab-community.lova...) 👉🏽 Apply to Be in the Growth Alliance (https://growth-alliance-2026.lovable....) 👉🏽Connect with Kyle S. King (https://meet-kyle-s-king.lovable.app/)