This blog was originally written as a guest post for GlassPockets, a blog of the Foundation Center.
When funders want to know about a particular issue or have questions about process, they often look first to peers and industry associations for answers. That makes perfect sense—the people who do the same job you do are likely to understand where you’re coming from and have experienced something similar.
But if funders stop there, they could be selling themselves short. There are also many people who have expertise on the very issue, process, challenge or innovation that a grantmaker is pondering, but are not employed by a foundation or an industry association.
These “knowledgeable outsiders” can have a great deal of valuable thought to add to the field of philanthropy. They offer perspectives that can help uncover new ideas and cautions that grantmakers may never see from inside their own walls. They can bring new levels of creativity, connectivity and effectiveness to a funder’s work. And perhaps most importantly, they can help funders be more transparent about the work they do in ways that resonate more deeply with the “outside” world.
So, how can you step outside your foundation box and into a different box altogether? How can you tap into the collective knowledge of those knowledgeable outsiders? The National Network of Consultants to Grantmakers (NNCG) has made it relatively easy, with the launch of its new online Knowledge Center.
NNCG is dedicated to elevating, expanding and improving the field of philanthropy. It is the only organization that brings together high-quality consultants to support the work of grantmakers, and to advance quality and ethical standards among consultants to philanthropy. NNCG members represent experienced and carefully vetted practitioners and thought leaders in the philanthropic field.
The Knowledge Center, created in partnership with the Foundation Center’s IssueLab, is an online collection of hundreds of materials created by NNCG members. Its resources represent a wide variety of best practices and innovation that can be or has been applied to grantmaking. It contains a wealth of reports, books, case studies, infographics, issue briefs, videos and more that offer ideas, research and helpful information about almost every aspect of philanthropy. You can search hundreds of topics in seconds using keywords, author, title, publishing organization or date ranges.
At its heart, transparency is all about sharing information openly and honestly. Shared databases like the NNCG Knowledge Center makes it easier to do just that, and both posters and searchers benefit. Consultants who’ve shared their resources and learnings in the Knowledge Center are modeling a best practice in transparency by making their knowledge and experiences available to others, at no charge, to further the field. They are also helping foundations learn more about transparency from both internal and external perspectives. (A quick search of the term “transparency” on the Knowledge Base as I wrote this post turned up 57 results.)
Those who search and use the Knowledge Center are not only potentially finding ways to enhance their own transparency, but help elevate the knowledge of the field as they spread what they learn.
So, in the spirit of transparency and continual improvement, I invite you to visit and explore the NNCG Knowledge Center. What do you think of the resources there? What other items would you suggest for potential inclusion? Email me at kris@putnam-consulting.com and share your thoughts.
Kris Putnam-Walkerly is a philanthropy expert and advisor. If you found this blog post useful, please subscribe. On Twitter? Follow me @Philanthropy411.
