Barrons’ Magazine this week has a cover story on effective philanthropists.  “The 25 Best Givers” doesn’t look at just levels of giving by philanthropists, but instead focuses on factors like “innovation, quality of alliances with other groups, the ripple effects of their giving and the extent to which their successful projects can be replicated.”  Jeff Skoll is second on the list of 25.  From the write up:

Skoll, eBay’s second employee, makes sure in his giving that “the positive social returns vastly exceed the amount of time and money involved.” He’s done that for 10 years by awarding unrestricted three-year grants to 59 entrepreneurial groups trying to build a more peaceful and prosperous world. The results can be stunning: One of this year’s grant recipients has trained armies of large rats to sniff for landmines in Africa, remnants of brutal civil wars there.

The article also mentions Jeff’s founding of the Skoll Centre at Oxford and his work with Participant Media in making movies that both entertain and inspire people to action on social and environmental issues.