Our country’s philanthropists have unique qualities and assets that create the power to catalyze change, including financial and human resources, the freedom to take risks and take the long view, and a broad perspective on communities and issues that no one else in our society has. Can more philanthropists embrace their power to provide the... Read More
Through two separate grants to the Florida Audubon Society, the Conservation, Food & Health Foundation (CFHF) of Boston supported the work of distinguished sea turtle researcher and conservationist Dr. Peter Pritchard to protect a critical sea turtle nesting beach on the northwest coast of Guyana in South America. Despite 30 years of efforts and the... Read More
“Foundations experience the moment at different times,” writes Jed Emerson in the Stanford Social Innovation Review. For the Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation, it was the 1980s; for the F.B. Heron Foundation, the mid-1990s. In both cases, the foundations recognized the division, even conflict, between their investments and their grantmaking. The Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation focuses... 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
The Rockwell Fund, Inc., a private foundation in Houston, TX, recognized the significant infrastructure needs of local zip code assistance ministries, organizations named for the restrictions they placed on themselves to serve only those within their adjacent zip codes. Although these organizations were providing excellent direct services to the communities, many were lacking the support... Read More
Three Exponent Philanthropy members shared how their foundations were forging ahead during the Great Recession of 2008: Henry Berman, president and trustee, The Edith Glick Shoolman Children’s Foundation, New York and Massachusetts; Billie Hall, president and CEO, Sunflower Foundation, Kansas; and Mari Brennan Barrera, vice president, Eos Foundation, Massachusetts. Where do you find energy and... Read More