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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

How a Small Foundation Leverages State and County Expertise

Before becoming executive director of a small foundation in Binghamton, NY, Catherine Schwoeffermann worked in a museum as a cultural anthropologist and curator of folk arts. While at the museum, she also served on grants panels at the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) in Washington, DC, and at the New York State Council on... Read More

New Legislation Impacting Private Foundations

As we enter the new year and decade, I want to call your attention to an important piece of legislation passed by Congress and signed into law by the President in the closing days of 2019 that has significant implications for those of us in the world of private foundations. The “Further Consolidated Appropriations Act,... Read More

A Grantee’s Landscape Scan Was a Game Changer

When a grantee suggested a landscape analysis of its field to identify barriers and best practices, our foundation questioned it. Our founders worried the analysis would take too much time, and wasn’t action-oriented. But we trusted the organization and moved ahead with about $70K to fund the study. When it was published, the report provided... Read More

Reflective Practice for a Small Foundation

Originally published by GMA Foundations Stories are a core element of reflective practice—methods and techniques that help individuals and groups learn from their experiences. In the social sector, the stories of how organizations make a difference in the world offer insight and hope, yet they can get lost in the day-to-day work. Grantee stories may... Read More