Some of the most effective foundations involved in policy and advocacy in the United States are lean, place-based foundations. They achieve significant impact and maximize their investment by intensely focusing on their chosen issues, gaining deep insights, leveraging their reputation and relationships, and persistently pursuing their goals. Why We Designed This Guide We created this... Read More
Funders are being asked to show how they are addressing social inequities by specifying what they do and how they are doing it—as well as who they are. How does philanthropy begin to embed equity into grantmaking, policies, and culture? Healthy Communities Foundation has been on a journey to address this question by advancing health... Read More
Every foundation’s goal is to have a thoughtful, disciplined investment process that is aligned with the foundation’s purpose and goals. This guide provides a high-level overview to quickly help you understand different aspects of foundation investment. Within these pages, you’ll find out how to start off with an investment policy statement (IPS), why your foundation... Read More
To highlight the current state of lean funder evaluation, this report provides an overview of the evaluation methods funders use most often, what they find most useful, how those techniques play out in practice, and how funders use evaluation information to support their work. This report expands on data presented in Exponent Philanthropy’s 2020 Foundation... Read More
Peer coaching is a unique opportunity to build stronger connections with other lean funders. Through peer coaching, you’ll gain insights to elevate your individual and collective work in philanthropy. Use this guide to help you prepare, process and reflect upon your experiences during peer coaching. Exponent Philanthropy thanks Jen Lachman of Lachman Consulting for her... Read More
In April, Exponent Philanthropy and PEAK Grantmaking each fielded a survey to see how our respective communities of funders were responding to the impact of COVID-19 on their communities, grantees, and internal operations and processes. Inspired by our members’ collaboration during these challenging times, PEAK Grantmaking and Exponent Philanthropy partnered to analyze the survey results... Read More