Dean Riesen & charitable sustainability

This week on Givers, Doers, & Thinkers, Jeremy sits down with businessman and philanthropist Dean Riesen about his effort to deliver and access clean water in Tanzania and what the rest of us can learn from his work.Dean is the Managing Partner of Redrock Partners, a private equity investment firm. As part of the firm’s work, he has served as the Chairman of Romano’s Macaroni Grill, Chairman of Famous Dave’s of America, and Managing Partner of Rimrock Partners, a commercial real estate investment and development firm. He founded and serves as Chairman of the Tanzania Water Fund, which has completed over 35 community-based water systems in the Singida Region of Tanzania. Does a localist approach translate to international giving? Dean shares his method for charitable sustainability through the Tanzania Water Fund—along with systems, people, and protocols to enact. He outlines what he calls the “human development pyramid” and why clean water is foundational to transformative impact for many developing communities—even more essential than economic development or healthcare. Dean closes out by offering wisdom on starting new endeavors and charitable work, noting the importance of patience and persistence when things fail and measuring the desired output instead of input.During our practicalities segment, Jeremy speaks with American Philanthropic consultant Michela Petrosino. She shares her insights and unique approaches to cultivating genuine relationships with your donors that go beyond the typical run-of-a-mill suggestions.You can find Givers, Doers, & Thinkers here at Philanthropy Daily, Apple Podcasts, Spotify, Amazon Music, Google Podcasts, Buzzsprout, and wherever you listen to podcasts.We’d love to hear your thoughts, ideas, questions, and recommendations for the podcast! You can shoot Katie Janus, GDT’s producer, an email anytime!Center for Civil Society's YouTube Channel