Featured Blog Post:
Category
The Hardest Thing About Making a Big Bet? Letting Go
On a Friday in February 2015, I invited 24 organizations to apply for funding in response to letters of inquiry our foundation had solicited. The next day, our board held a retreat to evaluate the foundation’s grantmaking outcomes over its first 5 years. We knew the board wanted to talk about how to increase our... Read More
Think “Perspective” for Effective Feedback Loops
By gaining the perspective of others, we broaden our own. Although this isn’t always an easy thing to do, it is almost always necessary to move forward, commit to continual improvement, and make an impact. Relying on our perspective Two years ago, Foundant introduced this tool for funding and evaluation strategies. Based on our experience... Read More
Using the Courts to Create Systemic Change
After Victoria Hewlett was raped at a fraternity party while attending Utah State University, she knew that healing would, at least in part, come through working for changes at the University that would help protect other students from abuse and assault on campus. Like many survivors of campus sexual assault, Hewlett sought to hold Utah... Read More
Synchronize Your Foundation
There was a time not so long ago that nearly all philanthropists, as well as many others, carried a mechanical watch. Prior to cell phones, digital watches, and electrical quartz watches, the mechanical watch was a true marvel—a complex assembly of springs, gears, jewels, pins, and other components. Winding a watch transmits energy into a... Read More
We Invest in Nonprofit Leaders: Here’s How
For most professionals who reach a nonprofit leadership position, the hard work is just beginning. As a leader’s responsibilities grow, more people depend on them for success in their own roles and the success of the organization. From managing resource challenges to the emotional demands of nonprofit work, leaders of these organizations often struggle to... Read More
Network-Weaving: A Key Factor in My Philanthropic Success
I just returned from leading the team that successfully cleaned up the world’s most plastic-polluted beach as part of the multi-disciplinary Henderson Island Plastic Pollution Expedition 2019. From the first day of my involvement with the Expedition, as founder of Howell Conservation Fund and leader of the beach cleanup team, I had two key performance... Read More