“When we first came to you, all we had was an idea. Blackstone’s early support for the climate/forests idea helped to precipitate a vast wave of organizational, scientific, and programmatic activity that has culminated in placing it at the top of the international agenda.” Jan Hartke, Partnership Director of the Clinton Foundation, 2011 Blackstone Ranch... Read More
Originally published by Idealware (March 2017) Can grants managers play a role in helping nonprofits get the technology funding they need to be successful? I led a discussion on this topic yesterday at the PEAK Grantmaking (formerly Grants Managers Network) conference in Hollywood, California. The breakout session, “How To Spot the Missing Tech in Grant Proposals,”... Read More
On a cold day in February 2015 at a board retreat on the coast of Maine, the board of directors of the Emanuel and Pauline A. Lerner Foundation made a big decision. After five years of funding nonprofits in Maine focused on civic engagement, cultural tolerance, and women and children, the board decided to take... Read More
There’s more to recordkeeping than meets the eye. Some foundations have discovered that good recordkeeping helps them improve their grantmaking and stay informed in their communities. In search of trends The Vine and Branches Foundation goes beyond the rules of recordkeeping. It uses records to assess where the foundation has been and where it wants... Read More
Earlier this year, Jim Morgan of Morgan Family Foundation published Applied Wisdom for Nonprofits: Eight Practical Tools for Leadership to share leadership tools and techniques with nonprofit emerging leaders, executive directors, and board members. Developed through his varied experiences—farming, military, venture capital, the Fortune 500 company Applied Materials, the Nature Conservancy, and his family foundation—Jim’s... Read More
Foundations use grant agreements to serve as a contract, typically to confirm details regarding the amount and period of the grant, its purpose, terms and conditions, and required reports and deadlines. Unfortunately, in some cases, the grant agreement may be the last contact a funder has with a grantee until they receive a final report,... Read More