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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
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
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
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
Why Our Foundation Created Oklahoma’s First Legislative Caucus on Early Childhood
In 2016, the Potts Family Foundation created a statewide collaborative called the Oklahoma Early Childhood Initiative, later dubbed OK25by25. Our stated goal is to move Oklahoma into the top 25 of all states by 2025 in key early childhood metrics. Our key demographic is families with children, pre-birth to five. Through listening sessions with key... 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