It’s time to recapture what is powerful about giving. Philanthropy is more than just transferring money. It’s about using passion, knowledge, connections, dollars, and your voice to make change on important issues. Research by Exponent Philanthropy reveals two qualities that put funders on the road to change making: passion for an issue and a curiosity... Read More
Three funders became activists, brokers, advocates, and catalysts for change. These are their stories. The 1772 Foundation: Creating a revolution by practicing historic preservation The 1772 Foundation in Rhode Island became an expert in its national funding focus: historic preservation. By developing deep knowledge and insight, and paying careful attention to new ideas, it nurtured... Read More
Even on the smallest scale, evaluation can: Provide information for decision making. Measure progress and motivate your board and staff. Help you to be as effective as possible with limited resources. Help you to be transparent and credible. Help you to learn, plan, and improve all aspects of your work. Set the stage If you... Read More
Not long ago, Exponent Philanthropy convened eight funders interested in focusing their giving. Over the course of our 7 months together, we named several rationalizations for not focusing. Have you used or heard any yourself? We share the following five and include ways to move past them. Misconception: Good deeds and good intentions will lead... Read More
On an individual level, empathy is the ability to reach beyond ourselves and connect in a deeper way with other people—to understand their experiences, to get where they’re coming from, to feel what they feel. Widespread empathy scales that intuition from the individual to the organization. It connects a foundation’s staff and board to the... Read More
The manager, a Baby Boomer, wants to schedule a meeting where she can sit across the table from her employees and discuss the latest project. Her longtime staff member from the World War II generation is ready to go, looking to share stories about what used to work well for the company. Her Millennial employees,... Read More