An Underutilized Tool For Foundations—Policy Change
In philanthropy, we are driven by the causes that matter to us and bolstered by the opportunity to generate meaningful change. For years, when I
October 14, 2015
No Comments
Practical Tips for Philanthropists
Kris Putnam-Walkerly is a philanthropy expert and consultant. If you find Practical Tips for Philanthropists useful, please consider subscribing.
Let’s Take a Sledgehammer to Philanthropic Bureaucracy
We often hear about streamlining philanthropy – mostly with regards to efforts at simplifying grant applications, approval processes and reporting requirements. Programs such as Project
October 13, 2015
No Comments
What Do You Know About Streamlining the Grantmaking Process?
We can all probably agree that grantmaking is not the most efficient process in the world – either for grantseekers or grantmakers. Thankfully, there are
October 5, 2015
No Comments
National TV show looking for nonprofit leaders
Are you a non-profit in need of funding? Colleagues of mine at TBA LLC are casting non-profit leaders to offer direct exposure to donors and
September 17, 2015
No Comments
Short on Time and Money? Consider a Virtual Site Visit
Site visits are a very valuable tool for funders, because they give you first-hand insight into the places and personalities that will put your charitable
September 17, 2015
No Comments
Three Rules to Guide Foundation Policy Efforts
Over the past few years, I’ve been working with more and more foundations that choose to actively engage in public policy discussions as part of
September 16, 2015
No Comments
Telling the Stories of Change
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
September 10, 2015
No Comments
“Policy” Shouldn’t Be a Four-Letter Word
“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
September 9, 2015
No Comments
Beware the Off-The-Shelf Consultant
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
August 24, 2015
No Comments
5 Back-to-School Lessons for Philanthropists
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
August 20, 2015
No Comments
If These Walls Could Talk
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
July 21, 2015
No Comments
Bringing Your New Strategic Plan Online Without Alienating Your Community
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
July 14, 2015
No Comments