Donor intent matters. A bevy of articles, consultants, and examples are available on how to craft donor intent statements and how to communicate them. Whatever the content and form, they should be dynamic, reciprocal learning tools that engage family members and beneficiaries. Extreme care needs to be applied so donor intent is not a one-way,... Read More
Small funders have a limited amount of grantmaking capacity and, to be impactful, must think about how to use those funds strategically to help their key nonprofit partners become more stable and proficient. This requires the funder to develop a more familiar relationship with the grantee—understanding its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats—and be prepared to... Read More
For more than 60 years, Foellinger Foundation has provided resources for Allen County, Indiana, residents to increase their self-reliance through grants to nonprofit organizations that directly serve them. But, as our grantees are helping people move from dependence to independence, measuring how they do that, and do it effectively, has often been challenging. To address... Read More
As CEO of Knapp Community Care Foundation, Yvonne “Bonnie” Gonzalez applies forward thinking to bring more funding to better the health of Rio Grande Mid Valley communities in holistic and sustainable ways. The Knapp Community Care Foundation, a health conversion foundation created in late 2012, provides grants for services within the Rio Grande Mid Valley.... Read More
As foundations strive to make meaningful change in support of their missions, understanding what leads to philanthropic impact is crucial. In the 2023 Foundation Operations and Management Report, foundations named insufficient grantmaking impact as one of their top challenges. In this blog, I’ll discuss a few factors that drive impact, as well as strategies for... Read More
Philanthropy is changing for a host of reasons, but perhaps most of all because funders are demanding more from it. The expectation that funders will be able to achieve impact, and see that impact, changes everything. No longer are donors satisfied with the mere act of writing checks. They want to see results. Add to... Read More