As practitioners, advisors and consultants to funders, conveners and conductors of community collaboration, we have observed collaboration and collective impact in communities across the country. From our on-the-ground experience, we have seen it done well, and not so well. The first of this two-blog series provided several guideposts for how funders can better see the... Read More
Power is taboo. We’re uncomfortable that some wield greater strength and influence, and use it to hold sway over others. In spite of our laws and regulations, our checks and balances, our moral and social norms nurturing restraint and respect, people use power to bend rules; exclude and disenfranchise; distort facts and disseminate misinformation; manufacture... Read More
When lean funders combine their grantmaking, influence, and passion, they have more impact than either could individually. The Leighty Foundation (Juneau, AK) and the Lodestar Foundation (Phoenix, AZ) both believe that strategic volunteer engagement can advance the missions of funders and their grant partners. Volunteers are often the first to respond to pressing community needs.... Read More
Change is life’s only constant. As philanthropists, we will either be undergoing change or driving it throughout our time involved in giving. Whether you love it or hate it, are in a position to react to it or create it, it is critical to our success as change agents to understand how we experience change... Read More
I grew up and spent most of my life in greater Boston. This included the 1970s when racial tension in the city was heightened by court-ordered bussing to desegregate the Boston City Schools. It was an ugly time for the region and a city so integral to the American Revolution. If I’m honest with myself,... Read More
I was driving my daughter to her summer job, and we were sharing: Thoughts, feelings, hopes, dreams. I went first. “I had a dream last night that a large snake rose from the laundry basket.” Not being a snake person in any way-shape-or-form, I was still shaken a bit. “Hmm,” responded 17-year-old Sophia. “My dreams... Read More