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Listening and Learning to Assess Needs, Find Your Niche
Scanning, a seldom discussed but powerful strategy for philanthropic impact, involves taking time to learn more about your community or a particular field to find out how your giving can be most effective. It involves intentional learning to develop a giving focus or design—or refine—a giving strategy. Why scan? Because the most effective giving is... Read More
Change Demands More Than Programmatic Grants
As grantmakers, we know the programs and projects we support are often by themselves insufficient to create the level of substantive change we hope for in the communities and issues we care about. Yes, a well-run tutoring program can indeed change the lives of children. There are so many factors, though, that go into improving... Read More
‘Opting out’ is OK in this funder-nonprofit dynamic
Originally appeared in a July 6, 2015 post to The Patterson Foundation’s blog You have a good idea for your organization. You have the opportunity to receive free consulting to help implement that idea. However, you aren’t sure your organization has the capacity to execute on that idea. What do you do? Do you take... Read More
Thoughtful Blueprints, Well-Built Houses
A grantmaker’s guide to evaluating a nonprofit’s theory of change “If we just start nailing that lumber together, we’ll end up with your dream house.” —No architect, ever Nonprofit mission statements evoke powerful visions of social change. To translate these lofty rallying cries into action, many thoughtful organizations have developed a detailed blueprint illustrating the... Read More
Reclaiming Philanthropy’s Role as Changemaker
I see dozens of funders around the country making change—catalyzing new ways of doing and thinking—without the support of a sizeable staff. This kind of change is bigger in scope than starting a new nonprofit organization, or helping a promising organization serve more people. Changemaking by small-staffed funders is transforming how people think about and... Read More
6 Ways to Champion Change From the Inside Out
Do you want to catalyze change at your foundation? Perhaps you want to improve board dynamics, refine your mission, or implement new technology. Many forces can initiate change, and here we explore how your fellow trustees and staff champion change successfully from the inside out. Every situation is different, of course, and we encourage you to use these ideas not as a... Read More