Comments on: The Foundation: An Abiding American Mystery http://www.effectivephilanthropy.org/blog/2010/03/the-foundation-an-abiding-american-mystery/ The blog of the Center for Effective Philanthropy Tue, 07 Feb 2012 21:10:52 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: Janet Camarena http://www.effectivephilanthropy.org/blog/2010/03/the-foundation-an-abiding-american-mystery/comment-page-1/#comment-917 Janet Camarena Thu, 11 Mar 2010 04:58:42 +0000 http://www.effectivephilanthropy.org/blog/?p=258#comment-917 This PAI study underscores the need for foundations to strive to have "glass pockets"--a phrase coined by Russell Leffingwell, a Carnegie board chair over fifty years ago. Glasspockets (www.glasspockets.org), a new web site developed by the Foundation Center in partnership with CEP, the Communications Network, and a number of other philanthropy infrastructure groups, is working to inspire foundations to greater openness about their operations and grantmaking. In Glasspockets we will feature content illuminating philanthropy's successes, failures, and ongoing experimentation so foundations can build on each other's ideas to increase impact. The "Who Has Glass Pockets" area of the site provides grantmakers and the public an easy way to see what some of the largest foundations in the country are doing as far as online information disclosure. This is a very new effort and we welcome your suggestions and input for the site's evolution. Janet Camarena Director, SF Office The Foundation Center This PAI study underscores the need for foundations to strive to have “glass pockets”–a phrase coined by Russell Leffingwell, a Carnegie board chair over fifty years ago. Glasspockets (www.glasspockets.org), a new web site developed by the Foundation Center in partnership with CEP, the Communications Network, and a number of other philanthropy infrastructure groups, is working to inspire foundations to greater openness about their operations and grantmaking. In Glasspockets we will feature content illuminating philanthropy’s successes, failures, and ongoing experimentation so foundations can build on each other’s ideas to increase impact. The “Who Has Glass Pockets” area of the site provides grantmakers and the public an easy way to see what some of the largest foundations in the country are doing as far as online information disclosure. This is a very new effort and we welcome your suggestions and input for the site’s evolution.

Janet Camarena
Director, SF Office
The Foundation Center

]]> By: Bill Huddleston http://www.effectivephilanthropy.org/blog/2010/03/the-foundation-an-abiding-american-mystery/comment-page-1/#comment-786 Bill Huddleston Thu, 04 Mar 2010 17:34:29 +0000 http://www.effectivephilanthropy.org/blog/?p=258#comment-786 I would count myself as one "engaged citizens" but I think one problem that foundations cause for themselves is the practice of only funding programs for one to three year periods. If I was surveyed, the two best examples I know of foundation success is the one from the 1940s where it was proven that painting a white line on the edge of pavement saves lives. This is also a great example of the fact that the program itself is not always scalable by the non-profit sector. Once proof of concept and saving lives were demonstrated, public road projects funded by taxpayers as part of road projects painted the lines as a normal part of road constuction efforts. The second example I can recall without research are the efforts of the Gates Foundation to combat various diseases. Their funding hasn't been just for a 3 year grant. Sustained funding can make a huge differnce. Regards, Bill Huddleston www cfcfundraising dot com Author of "Successful CFC Fundraising, Growing Donors that Give for Decades" I would count myself as one “engaged citizens” but I think one problem that foundations cause for themselves is the practice of only funding programs for one to three year periods.

If I was surveyed, the two best examples I know of foundation success is the one from the 1940s where it was proven that painting a white line on the edge of pavement saves lives. This is also a great example of the fact that the program itself is not always scalable by the non-profit sector. Once proof of concept and saving lives were demonstrated, public road projects funded by taxpayers as part of road projects painted the lines as a normal part of road constuction efforts.

The second example I can recall without research are the efforts of the Gates Foundation to combat various diseases. Their funding hasn’t been just for a 3 year grant.

Sustained funding can make a huge differnce.

Regards,
Bill Huddleston
www cfcfundraising dot com
Author of “Successful CFC Fundraising,
Growing Donors that Give for Decades”

]]> By: Bruce Trachtenberg http://www.effectivephilanthropy.org/blog/2010/03/the-foundation-an-abiding-american-mystery/comment-page-1/#comment-770 Bruce Trachtenberg Wed, 03 Mar 2010 15:26:28 +0000 http://www.effectivephilanthropy.org/blog/?p=258#comment-770 Never hurts to be reminded of this "knowledge deficit,"as PAI so fondly calls it. But I'm not ready to say it's a failure of foundations to communicate. There are far too many examples of thoughtful and well-implement communcations programs practiced by foundations large and small. However, what the research suggests is that greater effort needs to be spent determining the effectiveness of communications and making adjustments from what's learned. At the Communications Network, we're trying to help the field do that work better through activities such as a communications evaluation "toolkit" we published in 2008 (http://comnetwork.org/node/247), as well as through training, webinars, and at our conferences. We're going through one of the most disruptive communications periods in history, which presents both challenges and opportunities. On one hand, there are so many ways of communicating thanks to the explosion in social media. Similarly, that explosion makes it harder to be heard over all the noise. But that's no reason to remain quiet. Just get smarter at it. Never hurts to be reminded of this “knowledge deficit,”as PAI so fondly calls it. But I’m not ready to say it’s a failure of foundations to communicate.

There are far too many examples of thoughtful and well-implement communcations programs practiced by foundations large and small.

However, what the research suggests is that greater effort needs to be spent determining the effectiveness of communications and making adjustments from what’s learned. At the Communications Network, we’re trying to help the field do that work better through activities such as a communications evaluation “toolkit” we published in 2008 (http://comnetwork.org/node/247), as well as through training, webinars, and at our conferences.

We’re going through one of the most disruptive communications periods in history, which presents both challenges and opportunities. On one hand, there are so many ways of communicating thanks to the explosion in social media. Similarly, that explosion makes it harder to be heard over all the noise.

But that’s no reason to remain quiet. Just get smarter at it.

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