For several years now, funders have found themselves amid a rising tide of metrics and data. We look to numbers to tell us if we’ve “moved the needle,” “closed the gap” or otherwise made progress. We disaggregate data to better understand the populations we want to serve, and to determine where funding opportunities might lie. […]
Telling the Stories of Change Read More »
“Policy” is a four-letter word within many foundations. That’s probably because policy is a gateway to advocacy, which can lead to lobbying. And that, if done incorrectly, can land a foundation in trouble. Better just to steer clear. Or is it? Think about the work that you do on a daily basis to fight poverty,
“Policy” Shouldn’t Be a Four-Letter Word 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 »
It’s back-to-school time across most of the country, and my colleagues and I have all been trading stories of the build up to that first big day. Whether it’s pre-K or high school, there’s always something special about starting out on a new year. New clothes, fresh supplies, seeing old friends and making new ones
5 Back-to-School Lessons for Philanthropists Read More »
Foundations spend a lot of time and money defining the messages they want to share about themselves and their work, but those messages don’t always reflect the real story. What goes on inside the walls can be very different (and eventually, the truth will out). If the walls of your foundation could talk, what would
If These Walls Could Talk Read More »
I recently wrote about the phrase funders say that terrifies grantees: “We’re about to start a strategic planning process.” Although there are many things I listed that you can do to help mitigate grantee angst during a strategic planning process, the work doesn’t stop when the final plan is approved. It’s likely that many grantees who relied on
Bringing Your New Strategic Plan Online Without Alienating Your Community Read More »