I’ve been hearing a lot lately about funders weighing the options between strategic grantmaking and responsive grantmaking. The general angst seems to come from a sense that all funding must be strategic in order to make a difference. While it’s true that strategic philanthropy (as described below) can lead to broader or deeper outcomes, there […]
Strategic, Responsive, or Both? Read More »
Most philanthropies seek to be strategic and have an impact. Yet few build their own internal capacity to be strategic grantmakers. In particular, most funders forget to intentionally learn from their initial piloting and testing of strategies so that they can make early modifications and course corrections. Learning isn’t hard to do, but it must
Learning How to Learn Read More »
When meeting with potential new clients, I am occasionally struck by their “what can you do for me?” or “how much do you charge for an evaluation?” approach to hiring consultants. There is a fundamental flaw in this line of questioning that can doom a foundation-consultant relationship from the start. The approach is backwards, because
Beware the Off-The-Shelf Consultant Read More »
Last year I posted a blog about why I consider the RFP process for hiring consultants to be a waste of time and resources, for foundations and consultants alike. This week, read about 5 better ways to find quality consulting help. Before you send out another RFP to retain a consultant, consider these alternatives: Continuously source
Why RFPs Waste Time: Choose a Better Approach to Finding a Great Consultant Part II Read More »
I’m a stepparent and a stepchild. Apparently I am not alone. A staggering 42% of U.S. adults have a steprelationship–either a stepparent, a step or half sibling, or a stepchild. This translates to 95.5 million adults and doesn’t include all the stepkids under 18. This number is probably actually larger, when you count all the boyfriends,
4 Stepparenting Lessons for Grantmakers Read More »
I believe foundations could save time, solve problems more efficiently, and add greater value if their senior leadership would think like consultants. Let me explain: Most consultants work on a time-and-materials basis, meaning that they have an hourly rate. Foundation leaders who hire those consultants deem the value of their work worth that fee. However,
Grantmakers Should Think Like Consultants Read More »