To create change, you first have to “create an open will to change,” says Kelly Medinger of The Marion I. & Henry J. Knott Foundation in Baltimore, MD—a will that is built on at least three elements: Trust—One study suggests that emotional involvement is the strongest predictor of one’s commitment to change. Emotional involvement, in... Read More
The Claude W. and Dolly Ahrens Foundation has a mission, vision, and core values. A seven-word motto, though, most succinctly expresses its goal: Leave it better than you found it. Claude W. Ahrens lived by those words, says granddaughter Julie Gosselink, president and CEO of the foundation. In 1993, after a successful career in the... Read More
Exponent Philanthropy Senior Program Manager Sara Beggs spoke recently with two Exponent Philanthropy members with experience in collaborative models: Emily Tow Jackson of the Tow Foundation and Liz Sak of the Cricket Island Foundation. Tow Jackson has an extensive history with cross-sector collaboration to change the juvenile justice systems in Connecticut and New York. Sak... Read More
Role for our purposes is not your position as president or committee chair; rather, it is how you choose to behave to match the needs of a situation. Everyone holds multiple roles, adopting them almost without thinking. For example, parents play an impressive list of roles in situations with their children: confidante, disciplinarian, advocate, chauffeur.... Read More
General operating support is valuable for many reasons. It: Allows grantee organizations to focus on fulfilling their missions and building infrastructure, rather than on tackling peripheral projects and additional fundraising Serves as a vote of confidence for nonprofit leaders, helping to decrease burnout Lessens the inherent power imbalance between grantor and grantee, and shifts the... Read More
Private foundations must follow more stringent rules than public charities, pay an excise tax on net investment income, and pay out an amount equal to 5% of their assets annually. Public charities that are tipped into private foundation status also may lose funding. Many foundations will not give grants to other private foundations, and individual... Read More