Grantmaking Strategy and Evaluation

Sparking Cross-Sector Collaboration for COVID Recovery: How a Family Foundation Catalyzed Local Investment

Posted on February 24, 2021 by Nancy Rauch Douzinas, Kevin Law, Patrick Halpin, Gemma Deleon-Lopresti, Katie Smith Milway

 The Rauch Foundation of Long Island will describe how family foundations can play a unique role as a neutral hub to forge relationships across local business, government, and media that can multiply investment in regional economic recovery. Foundation President Nancy Rauch Douzinas and a panel of collaborators will articulate and illustrate five principles for using research, relationship networks, advocacy… Read More

Matching Grants Policy (Tracy Family Foundation)

Posted on February 2, 2021

The Matching Grant program of the Tracy Family Foundation is designed to encourage eligible participants to replicate the founder’s personal dedication to generosity and service. The program multiplies the time, talents, and resources of eligible participants in the communities they live and on the issues they care about… Read More

How Philanthropy Can Support Systems-Change Leaders

Posted on January 14, 2021 by The Bridgespan Group

Success in solving complex social problems frequently hinges on the work of organizations that harmonize the action of myriad actors—often referred to as field catalysts, systems orchestrators, or coalitions. Yet philanthropy too often overlooks them, as they defy traditional due diligence criteria. Breaking through will require philanthropy to reboot how it engages with these pivotal entities as critical catalysts and… Read More

Special grantmaking: A purposeful, flexible resource for foundations

Posted on January 8, 2021 by S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation

Many foundations that are guided by a long-term commitment to move the needle in a finite set of issue areas also hold “special grantmaking” funds. These program dollars can be flexibly deployed for nascent opportunities, innovative ideas, emergencies, local causes, and/or areas of high interest to their leaders. Little has been written about special grants as a vibrant resource for… Read More

Strategy and Evaluation: The Twin Engines of Effective Philanthropy

Posted on January 8, 2021 by S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation

This essay provides a fast-paced tour of grantmaker approaches, launching with the advent of long-range planning in the 1980s and visiting scenario planning, social return on investment, human-centered design, big data, and other developments that have influenced practice. The author lands on strategy and evaluation as the anchor approaches that will fuel greater philanthropic impact in the new decade. This… Read More

Open For Good: Knowledge Sharing to Strengthen Grantmaking

Posted on December 15, 2020 by GrantCraft

Knowledge has the power to spark change, but only if it is shared. In this GrantCraft guide, grantmakers share how and why their foundations openly share knowledge as an integral and strategic aspect of philanthropy. Learn from their firsthand experience how to grow organizational capacity and culture for knowledge sharing, address common concerns, and use knowledge exchange to advance your… Read More

Adopting Equity Practices

Posted on December 8, 2020 by Erin Kahn, Sindhu Knotz, June L. Wilson

man putting sticky notes on white board
There is an increasing recognition and understanding of the deep-seated structural inequities upon which the philanthropic sector and many other systems were built. Donors are moving away from the idea of racial equity and social justice as funding areas, and instead conceptualizing equity as a lens that spans grantmaking, governance, and management and operations. In this webinar, learn how to… Read More

Succession Planning and Family Transitions

Posted on December 8, 2020 by Peter Myers, Mary Sobecki, Mary Phillips

hand giving set of keys to another hand - succession, passing the baton, transition
Change is inevitable and can be especially complex in family philanthropy. There are a number of questions to explore to ensure the success of a collective giving effort. What are the anticipated moments of transition? What are the plans to navigate accordingly? Who is best suited—and prepared—to lead the family philanthropy effort moving forward? Is there a clear plan for… Read More

Impact, Measurement, and Evaluation

Posted on December 7, 2020 by Kat Athanasiades, Lisa Spalding, Phil Buchanan

Impact is often an elusive concept in philanthropy. What is the most effective way to monitor grants? How do families define and measure success? What is the burden on grantee partners and how might it be mitigated? Successful family philanthropies employ a formative framework for impact that typically involves a process to define the sought-after change, an alignment of grantmaking… Read More

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