Last year, for organizations positioned to engage young leaders and for young leaders themselves, a colleague and I shared ways to create a welcoming space for the next generation to learn and build confidence. See Are You Creating Space for Young Leaders to Lead? >> Because the challenge of engaging the next generation—and getting engaged as... Read More
In 2015, Exponent Philanthropy and partners Mission Investors Exchange and Arabella Advisors released Essentials of Impact Investing: A Guide for Small-Staffed Foundations. This post is adapted from the complimentary and actionable guide, geared to foundations with few or no staff that want to align their investments and missions. Download Essentials of Impact Investing: A Guide... Read More
Like many private foundations, ours has historically kept a relatively low profile. That all changed a decade ago when our board and staff embarked on a strategic planning process. It became clear through its community conversations, interviews, and research that our foundation had a real opportunity to extend our impact by improving our communications. We... Read More
Funders are supporting sabbaticals for nonprofit leaders—and taking sabbaticals themselves—as a way to step back from professional identity, let go of routine, and restore their energy for the long haul. The Durfee Foundation has been a leader in funding nonprofit executive sabbaticals for 20 years. “Since the beginning, our board has focused on leadership and... Read More
We created the Fund for Shared Insight—a funder collaborative with diverse support from 30 different funders—to increase foundation openness. We believe that if foundations are more open—which we define as how they share about their goals and strategies; make decisions and measure progress; listen and engage in dialogue with others; act on what they hear;... Read More
Educating and developing board members can be a challenge for even the most well-intentioned foundations. Board members’ time and energy can be limited. Longstanding board members can grow increasingly comfortable in their roles and with their colleagues. Grantmaking decisions and general business can easily fill agendas. And yet, we know from our foundation members that... Read More