Advocacy is all about promoting a cause or idea to lawmakers, the media, and the public. It can be as simple as saying, “Poverty is bad,” to get people thinking about the issue. Advocacy takes many forms—public education, media campaigns, legal actions, and even voter registration. A lot of people confuse advocacy with lobbying. However,... Read More
Philanthropy has the power to drive systemic change, but what does it take to move beyond traditional grantmaking? The Catalytic Philanthropy Podcast features funders who are challenging the status quo—leading with trust, taking strategic risks, and building deep community relationships. In our refreshed Foundation Guidebook, we highlight key podcast episodes that showcase how funders are... Read More
How would philanthropy be different if foundation leaders spent most of their time out in the community listening, learning and engaging with people? In my work at Exponent Philanthropy, I interview hundreds of staff, trustees and donors of small, place-based foundations. I’ve learned that many organize their work in this way—seeing themselves not as grantmakers,... Read More
This post originally appeared on The Philanthropic Initiative’s blog. “When philanthropy partners, communities prosper.” This was the guiding mantra that tied together Exponent Philanthropy’s 2023 conference in Baltimore, MD that we attended last fall. From the start, we were energized by philanthropic and nonprofit leaders alike echoing the importance of centering community voice for greater... Read More
Laird Norton Family Foundation is in its 84th year and is a family-involved organization. Today the family is in its 8th generation and numbers more than 500 members across the globe, but by many other measures, we’re a small foundation, with approximately $40M in assets and grantmaking of about $2M per year. We do our... Read More
The Outsized Impact Award honors an individual at an Exponent Philanthropy member organization whose style of philanthropy is achieving outsized (or greater than expected) impact. Read the wonderful stories of the 2022 finalists. Danyelle O’HaraMortenson Family Foundation (Minneapolis, Minnesota) As the community relationship officer at the Mortenson Family Foundation, Danyelle O’Hara is centering community in the foundation’s decision-making. Danyelle... Read More