Listening. It’s a skill we’ve been talking about a lot here at Exponent Philanthropy. Why? First, because we believe that listening is an essential skill for effective philanthropy. When—and only when—we listen deeply and humbly to those we serve, can we learn about their true needs and how we can partner most effectively to create... Read More
Your community foundation is working hard to get your donors involved and help them understand the importance of supporting not only their own favorite causes, but also the most pressing community needs identified by your team and board of directors. You are also closely watching key trends in philanthropy: Families want to be involved in... Read More
Donor intent matters. A bevy of articles, consultants, and examples are available on how to craft donor intent statements and how to communicate them. Whatever the content and form, they should be dynamic, reciprocal learning tools that engage family members and beneficiaries. Extreme care needs to be applied so donor intent is not a one-way,... Read More
Exponent Philanthropy thanks the Annie E. Casey Foundation for partnering to deliver a 3-part “Improving Outcomes for Children & Families” webinar series. This post is based on one part of the series: Collective Impact: B’More for Healthy Babies Case Study. Exponent Philanthropy members may access the 90-minute webinar recording >> Collaboration is a common strategy to solve social problems,... Read More
Every organization, no matter the size, should consider developing a media strategy. Beautifully landscaped Facebook pages and carefully crafted tweets are less important than unified messages and timely goals. The following general guidelines, excerpted from our Media Toolkit for Exponent Philanthropy members, can be adopted by any nonprofit or foundation seeking to build relationships with its community... Read More
Last week we held two “Great Funder-Nonprofit Relationships” programs generously supported by the Fund for Shared Insight. More than 200 total participants, representing both funders and nonprofits, joined us for candid conversations in Los Angeles and San Francisco. What does a great funder-nonprofit relationship look and feel like? We asked this question during the program... Read More