Tag Archive
role of philanthropy
Better Funder/Grantee Dialogue: From Elusive to Imperative
May 1st, 2013
I’ll admit, I seek external validation as much as the next person. When I was a Rockefeller Foundation program officer, I wanted to be valued as more than a walking wallet. ...
Lessons from a Risk Taken
April 25th, 2013
We hear a lot about “risk” in the social sector. We’re told that it’s a key function of philanthropy to provide risk capital. ...
This Revolution Will Be Improvised
April 10th, 2013
A few weeks ago, I had the great privilege of visiting London, including appointments with senior advisors to Number 10 Downing Street and the UK Cabinet. There, inside the wood-paneled room of Number 10, surrounded by paintings of icons and trophies of the past, the main message I heard was: We cannot do this alone. ...
Foundations and Impact Investing: What Is Really Going On?
April 2nd, 2013
Impact investing has been hailed as potentially transformational by nonprofit sector, corporate, and foundation leaders. Elizabeth Littlefield, President and CEO of the Overseas Private Investment Corporation, has called it “the game-changer we need in the quest to end poverty” that will allow us to “solve many of the world’s social problems while making attractive financial returns. ...
Diving Deeper into Nonprofit Performance Assessment
March 27th, 2013
“We started off where many of your respondents started, which was having an intention around evaluation, wanting to know more. It’s not our core business. ...
Appreciating an Underdeveloped Source of Insight
February 21st, 2013
Amidst a flurry of recent talk about the opportunities and challenges presented by the application of “big data” in philanthropy, one aspect of the conversation that is often overlooked is beneficiary feedback. Yet, with a growing body of research that demonstrates a link between beneficiary perceptions and outcomes, there is both a moral and an effectiveness argument to be made for listening to those we seek to help. ...
Mission Driven Investing: Philanthropy’s Surprising Returns
February 20th, 2013
“We know that America thrives when every person can find independence and pride in their work; when the wages of honest labor liberate families from the brink of hardship. We are true to our creed when a little girl born into the bleakest poverty knows that she has the same chance to succeed as anybody else, because she is an American; she is free, and she is equal, not just in the eyes of God but also in our own. ...
The Hidden Power of Measurement
February 14th, 2013
In case you haven’t read it yet, the 2013 Annual Letter from Bill Gates “makes the case for using a tool of business to improve the health and welfare of the world’s people.” That tool is measurement, embodied in the letter by the “Lord Chancellor,” a micrometer that allowed inventors to fine tune the performance of steam engines during the early 1800s. ...
Data Point: Foundations’ Information Needs vs. Nonprofits’ Needs
February 6th, 2013
One of the key findings in our Room for Improvement report was that nonprofits want more help in their performance assessment efforts than they are currently receiving from their foundation funders. For foundations, nonprofit effectiveness is critical: the extent to which foundations make a difference in society depends, in large part, on the effectiveness of the organizations they fund. ...
When “Dependency” is Not a Bad Word
January 15th, 2013
I have a dependency problem. No, it’s not drugs or alcohol. ...
assessing performance
beneficiary feedback
beneficiary perceptions
communications
community foundations
comparative data
conferences
developing strategy
Donor Perception Report
economy
effective philanthropy
Essentials of Foundation Strategy
foundation effectiveness
foundation governance
foundation performance
foundation staff/program officers
foundation strategy
foundation transparency
Funder/Grantee Relationships
funder/grantee relationships
funder effectiveness
giving strategy
goals
Grantee Perception Report
grantee perspectives
Grantee Voice
indicators
leadership
nonprofit sector
overall foundation performance assessment
performance assessment
performance measurement
philanthropy
role of philanthropy
social media
Staff Perception Report
stakeholder engagement
strategy implementation
youth
YouthTruth
Lessons from a Risk Taken
I really appreciate your willingness to share this and your assessment of what didn't work out as planned or anticipated. Thanks.
I really appreciate your willingness to share this and your assessment of what didn't work out as planned or anticipated. Thanks.
Lessons from a Risk Taken
Jon, thanks for the comment. If there’s one thing we learned, it’s that the cost in time and effort and dollars were all higher than...
Jon, thanks for the comment. If there’s one thing we learned, it’s that the cost in time and effort and dollars were all higher than...
Lessons from a Risk Taken
Thanks for sharing the lessons learned, and what I sense are second thoughts about the cost/benefit of the whole enterprise. I appreciate the thirst for...
Thanks for sharing the lessons learned, and what I sense are second thoughts about the cost/benefit of the whole enterprise. I appreciate the thirst for...
Foundations and Impact Investing: What Is Really Going On?
Great insight. Sometimes it's great to invest in multiple countries as security as the economy in one country might decrease and increase in another.
Great insight. Sometimes it's great to invest in multiple countries as security as the economy in one country might decrease and increase in another.
Foundations and Impact Investing: What Is Really Going On?
Great questions. It is likely still too early to get a handle on whether the (potential) results reflect the hype meaningfully. However, I will be...
Great questions. It is likely still too early to get a handle on whether the (potential) results reflect the hype meaningfully. However, I will be...
