NCFP Blog

Voices from the Field

Strategic, Responsive, or Both?

Posted on October 14, 2016 by Kris Putnam-Walkerly

Responsive grantmaking is being open to receiving proposals and ideas from any nonprofit, and allowing the nonprofits to drive the agenda. Requests are initiated by the nonprofit, rather than by a funder seeking them out. This doesn’t mean that a foundation doesn’t have core areas of focus, but that within those areas is wishes to be responsive to the needs nonprofits feel most keenly… Read More
Voices from the Field

The Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation Signed the Divest Invest Pledge: Here’s Why

Posted on October 10, 2016 by Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation

Recognizing the disproportionate impacts of climate change on low-wealth people and communities of color in the United States and around the globe, we signed the Divest Invest pledge, a global movement calling for investors "to divest from the fossil fuel industries deepening the climate crisis and invest instead in climate solutions." … Read More
Featured Article

It’s Time for Grantmakers to Embrace Failure

Posted on October 5, 2016 by Katherine Lorenz

Philanthropy often encourages grantees to take risks, to be innovative, to find new solutions to old problems. Indeed, many refer to philanthropy as “risk capital,” providing funding that can help society create innovative, new models for addressing the world’s most intractable social issues. But risk and innovation often bring an uncomfortable consequence: failure… Read More
Voices from the Field

What Funders Can Learn from Beyoncé

Posted on September 26, 2016 by Edgar Villanueva

Let’s start listening to (seeking first to understand) our grantees, before responding with answers and solutions. Let’s facilitate the solutions of a problem by asking questions such as, “What are the outcomes you/we want from this situation?” “What support do you need from me?” “How can you hold me, as the funder, accountable?”… Read More
Voices from the Field

In 10 Years: More Foundations Aim to Sunset

Posted on September 23, 2016 by Philanthropy Northwest

We’ve been hearing more in recent years about foundations opting to give away all their money by a set year instead of existing in perpetuity. In this blog Philanthropy Northwest speaks with Erin Kahn of Raikes Foundation and June Wilson of Quixote Foundation about the trend of private foundations opting to sunset rather than exist in perpetuity… Read More
Voices from the Field

From Syria to San Diego: The Lawrence Welk Family Foundation Junior Board Grants $10,000 to Refugee Resettlement

Posted on September 9, 2016 by Lisa Parker

A simple internet search for “Syrian refugees” yields millions of results— a testament to how much press coverage and national attention the impact of Syria’s civil war has received in the United States. Lisa Parker, the president of LWFF, saw it as an opportunity for herself and her family to learn about the experiences of refugees when they come to the US… Read More

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