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Part 1: How Funders Can Strengthen Connections To Community; Seeing Your Community and Navigating Relationships
As practitioners, advisors and consultants to funders, conveners and conductors of community collaboration, we have observed collaboration and collective impact in communities across the country. From our on-the-ground experience, we have seen it done well, and not so well. In this first of a two-blog series, we’ll provide several guideposts about how funders can better... Read More
Betting on Systems Change: One Foundation’s Journey
Forward-thinking philanthropy is by nature a gamble. With new ideas continually being tested, new fields discovered and new measurements created, it can be difficult to know when you are succeeding. We substitute the known to try and bring order. We count the number of people served. We measure the hours of service provided. We substitute scale... Read More
3 Immediate Steps Funders Can Take To Move Towards Racial Equity
We discussed how philanthropy can start to advance racial equity in the first two parts of this blog series: Developing a Shared Language and Introducing an Anti-Racist Intersectional Frame. Now, here are three steps that lean funders can take to start doing racial equity work in real time: 1. Look internally Before trying to deepen... Read More
Our Family Foundation’s Approach To Trust-Based Philanthropy
“The greatest gift you can give another person is trust,” said one of our grantees. When I started thinking about how to share our experiences with trust-based philanthropy, my first thought was to hear our grantees’ perspectives. This defines our philanthropic philosophy: working collectively to inspire possibility, innovation and sustainable outcomes. Engaging in trust-based philanthropy... Read More
Moving Towards Racial Equity in Philanthropy: Introducing an Anti-Racist Intersectional Frame
For over forty years, the Center for the Study of Social Policy (CSSP) has worked to produce equal outcomes for children, families and communities. The organization’s commitment to equity, especially racial equity, means we’re constantly evolving our thinking. Part of this evolution has led us to start using an anti-racist, intersectional frame to guide our... Read More
Nonprofit Collaboration Is Essential Now—How Funders Can Play a Role
These unprecedented times require new ways of working together. Nonprofits’ services are needed more than ever. But there are fewer resources to support them. Organizations have already lost significant revenue streams from cancelled fundraisers and lost earned income. The number of households that give was decreasing before the pandemic hit, says the 2019 Giving USA... Read More