Effective Family Philanthropy in Action

When the Rogers Family Foundation announced the sunsetting of our Oakland education strategy in October 2020, our team knew we’d reach a point of reflection on our grantmaking and practices over the last two decades. That time is now. This piece focuses on the concept of “Beyond the Grant,” which challenges funders to leverage internal organizational capacity to support their… Read More

“Your family’s legacy can in fact honor previous generations, their sacrifices and opportunities; as well as hold a necessary critique of the harm these opportunities may have caused for many others,” says author Will Cordery. Will and his team at Freedom Futures share their Aligning Legacy with Liberation™ framework and the belief that a family’s liberation is deeply attached to… Read More

How can an equity or DEI statement be brought to life in funder practices? The Kenneth Rainin Foundation formed a working group to advance diversity, equity, and inclusion in its communications and shares findings from the process. The Kenneth Rainin Foundation has been advancing diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) across our organization for the past few years. We’ve reported on… Read More

How can funders honor the time that grantseekers spend on application processes in instances where the nonprofit is not selected for a grant? In cases where they are, will the grant award cover the time and expense the grantee spent? Read on to find out how the Walter and Elise Haas Fund is addressing those questions.  Grantmakers grapple with how… Read More

As the Mortenson Family Foundation further defined its mission, Foundation Executive Director Donna Dalton considered how to lead the organization in a way that centered community. Ultimately, Donna made a values-aligned decision to make space for a new leader who was more proximate to the Foundation’s mission and poised to usher the organization into a new era. So many individuals,… Read More

Grantmakers can have a reputation for having opaque guidelines and limited access to information. David Weitnauer and his colleague, Rachel Sprecher, explain how The Dobbs Foundation took another step towards transparency and accessibility with their Open Information Sessions. Black Box. Enigma. Total mystery. No, these are not a reference to Thursday’s Wordle or how ChatGPT works. They’re regrettable tropes we’ve… Read More

This piece was originally published by The Bridgespan Group and is re-posted with permission. Founded by philanthropists Liz and Don Thompson of the Cleveland Avenue Foundation for Education (The Cafe) to upend the chronic underinvestment in Black-led organizations, The 1954 Project seeks to radically redesign how philanthropy connects with Black leaders in education. The Thompsons note, ” The 1954 Project… Read More

Editor’s Note: This article was originally published in Concinnity, an annual newsletter for the Andrus Family Philanthropy Program, and reposted here with permission. In the more than 20 years since the Andrus Family Philanthropy Program was created, the program and the Andrus Family Fund have grown and evolved. Learn about the ways that the program serves as a model of… Read More

In 2015, I stepped away from the field of education and dove into the world of philanthropy. Previously, I had been principal of Fenger High School on Chicago’s South Side. My experience with funders had been exclusively on the receiving end; my team at Fenger and I worked hard to secure financial resources that would allow us to support our… Read More

“Why do we have to change?” This was the question posed to me by my board chair last year while the Zellerbach Family Foundation (ZFF) was in the depths of its first ever strategic planning process. It was a fair question. For over 65 years, ZFF has sought to serve as a catalyst for constructive social change; our work throughout… Read More