Taking on risky, large, or new projects when you are a small staffed foundation can be very challenging and seem aspirational. What if you could deploy a strategy to expand your giving, receive rapid and early validation to enable more confidence in your giving, all while investing in capacity- and relationship-building with your grantee partners?... Read More
This toolkit is for seasoned donors, donor advised fund holders, foundation trustees, and staff who are taking steps to significantly ramp up the impact of their giving. No longer content with just “making good grants” or “doing good things for the community,” you have taken a fresh look at your goals, strategies, and outcomes and... Read More
To highlight the current state of lean funder evaluation, this report provides an overview of the evaluation methods funders use most often, what they find most useful, how those techniques play out in practice, and how funders use evaluation information to support their work. This report expands on data presented in Exponent Philanthropy’s 2020 Foundation... Read More
As funders seek to leverage their resources for impact and change, many ignore a powerful asset right under their gaze. This hidden asset is the donor, board member, family member, or staff person who possesses curiosity—the drive to venture out into the community or field to listen, talk with people, and learn. From interviews with... Read More
Many foundations avoid being the first funder of new initiatives. For the Blackstone Ranch Institute, being first-in is often the ultimate sweet spot. For over a decade, our foundation has been placing early philanthropic investments in a broad range of new initiatives in the environment and sustainability fields. Very often they have been the first... Read More
In April, Exponent Philanthropy and PEAK Grantmaking both surveyed their members to learn how they’ve adjusted their funding approaches in response to COVID-19. Join Melissa Sines, Programs and Knowledge Director at PEAK Grantmaking, and Brendan McCormick, Manager, Research and Education at Exponent Philanthropy, for a discussion on their different survey results. Read More