It’s common for Exponent Philanthropy members who’ve made significant impact to reflect back and say, “Money wasn’t the most important thing. It was really about being a catalyst, making things happen.” Philanthropy is more than transferring money. It’s about using passion, knowledge, connections, advocacy, and dollars to make change on important issues. Central to success... Read More
Our goal is to make the McElroy Trust the easiest place to seek funding for good ideas. It’s not the easiest place to get a “yes,” because we see a lot of proposals, ask hard questions, and have high standards. But we try to never make a grantseeker jump through hoops. I estimate that changes... Read More
Some years ago, when Jacques Chirac was still president of France, the U.S. State Department asked me to meet with Chirac’s advisor on domestic affairs. She had completed a national tour of institutions of American voluntarism. I was the last stop on her tour, her opportunity to debrief. Her leading question to me was, “How... Read More
At some point in our life and work, we ask ourselves, Is there more to know? Is there more to experience? Is there more impact or change we can make? It’s not that we’re ungrateful for what we have. It’s that we get restless, frustrated, fatigued. We heard somewhere that philanthropy was about taking risks,... Read More
At Foundant Technologies—provider of online grants management solutions for grantmakers and grantseekers—we have always been supporters of the youth philanthropy movement. We began as early sponsors and supporters of Youth Philanthropy Connect (YPC), a youth-led peer advisory network for young people involved in philanthropy. We attended their conferences and even joined them during their on-the-road... Read More
Small funders have a limited amount of grantmaking capacity and, to be impactful, must think about how to use those funds strategically to help their key nonprofit partners become more stable and proficient. This requires the funder to develop a more familiar relationship with the grantee—understanding its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats—and be prepared to... Read More