Knowledge Center | Report

Core Components of Foundations that Learn

There is a growing sense in the philanthropic field that knowledge, strategically applied, is as important to community-change efforts as money. If this is true, then foundation leaders must re-imagine and reconstruct the role of learning and give it a central place in their organizations’ missions, goals, strategies, internal structures, and external partnerships. In short, foundations must become learning institutions. Read More
Knowledge Center | Report

Creating Choices Before Making Choices: One Family Foundation’s Journey to Finding a Strategic Focus

July 21, 2016 | Kelly Medinger
Rooted in business principles, philanthropic study, and reflective practice, this article examines the first step of building a grantmaking strategy – finding an issue or problem to address – and presents a three-part model for creating choices that reflect a foundation’s donor intent, organizational talents and resources, and broader community needs. Ultimately, this process illustrates how a family foundation can find a strategic focus, either for all or simply Read More
Knowledge Center | Ask the Center

Is there a database for donors to find great grants/nonprofits to fund?

Every year, our family foundation considers new causes and grantees to support. Since the foundation does not accept unsolicited proposals, the foundation staff would like to know if there is a database or another resource that captures great grantseeker requests for funding. To our knowledge there does not (yet) exist a one-stop-shop for grantmakers looking to navigate requests for funding. However, Read More
Knowledge Center | Impact Story

Igniting the Spark: Lumpkin Family Foundation

June 22, 2016 | Youth Philanthropy Connect
The Lumpkin Family Foundation is located in Mattoon, Illinois, with family geographically dispersed.  The foundation supports people pursuing innovation and long-lasting improvements in the environment, health, education, and community access to the arts in its home of Clara County. This next gen case study describes their history of youth engagement, and the strategies they have used to engage youth connected Read More
Knowledge Center | Impact Story

Igniting the Spark: The Tarsadia Foundation

June 22, 2016 | Youth Philanthropy Connect
The Tarsadia Foundation is located in Newport Beach, California.  The foundation supports non-profit organizations with programs and projects that provide educational opportunities for the underserved, support health and well-being of the community, and assist to employ the employable through economic empowerment. This next gen case study describes their history of youth engagement, and the strategies they have used to engage Read More
Knowledge Center | Impact Story

Igniting the Spark: Dekko Family Foundation

June 22, 2016 | Youth Philanthropy Connect
The Dekko Family Foundation is located in Kendallville, Indiana. The idea for Youth Pods started in the 1990s, when a staff member went to a family philanthropy conference and learned about youth philanthropy initiatives. With no Dekko family members at the right age, the Dekko Foundation looked to the Michigan Community Foundation Youth Advisory Council model to develop youth philanthropy Read More
Events & Webinars | Webinars

Making Big Bets for Big Results

Bridgespan research reveals that 80% of the biggest donors aim for dramatic social change with their giving, yet only 20% of the biggest gifts (for research purposes, identified at $10M or above) over the past decade plus have gone to such causes. The Bridgespan Group identified a number of barriers and stories of how some donors were getting beyond them Read More