Buzz Schmidt

Buzz Schmidt "is a trustee for the Institute for Philanthropy. He is also the founder, chairman, and chief executive officer of GuideStar. GuideStar is a registered trademark and the operating name of Philanthropic Research, Inc., a 501(c)(3) public charity, which seeks to revolutionise philanthropy and nonprofit practice with information. Through www.guidestar.org, GuideStar assembles and delivers an exhaustive database of financial and operational reports on public charities.

"A graduate of Princeton and Stanford graduate schools of business and education, Mr. Schmidt has spent 25 years working in both the private and nonprofit sectors and serves on advisory boards of several national and local nonprofit organisations.The Nonprofit Times named him Nonprofit Executive of the Year for 1999 and one of the 50 Most Influential People in the nonprofit sector for 2000, 2001, and 2002. In November 2001, TIME Magazine recognized Mr. Schmidt as one of the seven innovators in philanthropy, with the Time 100, the next wave of American innovators for the new century."

• Trustee, Institute for Philanthropy