In our many conversations with funders, we hear that finding a focus—for all or part of your giving—is the most fundamental step you can take on a journey toward fulfilling philanthropy. Focusing at least part of your giving is not only powerful, it’s critical. Our communities desperately need new solutions to social challenges. We need... Read More
Five years ago, The Belk Foundation looked very different than it does today. When I was asked to come on as the foundation’s first full-time director, the objective from the board was clear: help us connect this 80-plus-year-old foundation more fully into the community, so that we may better understand the impact of our grantmaking.... Read More
Philanthropy is changing for a host of reasons, but perhaps most of all because funders are demanding more from it. The expectation that funders will be able to achieve impact, and see that impact, changes everything. No longer are donors satisfied with the mere act of writing checks. They want to see results. Add to... Read More
Ever thought about doing an in-house “quick and dirty” strategic plan for your giving? To be honest, I hadn’t either. But after receiving 400 requests for funding in the first year after establishing an additional focus of sustainable agriculture and food systems work, we knew we had to do something. The requests covered a wide... Read More
Thirteen years ago, my parents sold their telecommunications company and started a private foundation. Their earliest motivations were to avert taxes from the sale and safeguard my two brothers and me from inheriting wealth that would deter us from working for a living. For the first 7 years, on December 27, we gathered for a... Read More
If we’re not actively pursuing real impact with everything we’ve got, we’re simply processing paper and redistributing assets. Why settle for that when we can see and participate in real change? —Emily Hull-Parsons, The William McCaskey Chapman & Adaline Dinsmore Chapman Foundation I bet you’re convinced that your foundation can accomplish more with its giving,... Read More