This is a guest post by Rusty Stahl, Executive Director of Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy (EPIP). It was originally published on April 26, 2012 on the EPIP website.
Today marks an important moment in EPIP’s history — the launch of our Generating Change initiative. There are lots of bells, whistles and fanfare at our national conference as we celebrate this launch, but what does it really mean for funders?
Simply put, it’s a chance to make your grantmaking more effective than ever.
Here’s why:
[youtube http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Dsf19zIbzDA&w=560&h=315]
Foundations are only as effective as the nonprofits they fund. Those nonprofits, in turn, are only as effective as their leaders. Therefore, it stands to reason that when foundations make smart, strategic investments in nonprofit talent and leadership development, they are also investing in their own grantmaking effectiveness.
How do you make those smart, strategic investments? That’s where Generating Change comes in.
Generating Change is designed to:
- Create deep discussion about the challenges and opportunities for nonprofit talent and leadership development;
- Illuminate new ways funders can address this critical need at all levels; and
- Increase investment in talent and leadership development at the individual, organization, movement and sector levels.
For years, we’ve heard the predictions that nonprofit leadership was on the brink of a crisis, as departing baby boomers left a rash of hard-to-fill leadership vacancies. Our research found that although the crisis isn’t quite as threatening as originally predicted, developing nonprofit talent and leadership is a real challenge. But luckily, the answer to sustaining nonprofit leadership lies within the sector itself.
Generating Change aims to supply what funders need to learn more and get involved in investing in nonprofit talent and leadership development. Check out the case studies, videos and resources in our Generating Change online tool kit for funders. Learn more about nonprofit talent and leadership development in our initiative framing paper.
Help us celebrate by learning why and how you can get involved in Generating Change!
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Posted by Kris Putnam-Walkerly © Kris Putnam-Walkerly and Philanthropy411, 2012.
