Perspectives

At the GEO Learning Conference this year a group of 5 evaluators and funders held a session of five pecha kucha talks to explore the current criticisms of evaluation and propose some solutions. In this blog series, the speakers explore their topics and offer additional insights.

In this post, which originally appeared in The Chronicle of Philanthropy, Bess Rothenberg of the Ford Foundation reflects on the challenges of confirmation bias as obstacles to progress and change.

As more grantmakers are considering how they can advance change through their grantmaking, many funders are also thinking the need to strengthen their organizational cultures in order to work more effectively and have greater impact. Intentional cultural change work can take many different forms. Our conversation with Margie Jo Eun Joo Andreason, diversity, equity and inclusion manager at Northwest Area Foundation, and Paul Luna, president & CEO of Helios Education Foundation, during a recent GEO webinar showed two different approaches to culture change.

The Consumer Health Foundation has long embedded racial equity in its programs, policies and practices. Kendra Allen, program associate with the foundation, breaks down the activities and elements they use in their approach toward racial equity.

Five major foundations, all GEO members, have agreed to do more to combat the “starvation cycle” that undercuts the effectiveness of their grantees. They have agreed to test and refine potential solutions, and to reach out to other funders to share what they have learned.

What if the philanthropic sector placed as much value on love and relationships as we do on data and outputs? What if strategic plans accounted for the time it takes to actually build deep, authentic trust and our theories of change had love at the center? It’s no longer a dream— it’s how the Latino Community Foundation does the work and why they've had such powerful results.

The Associations Advancing Equitable Evaluation Practices (AAEEP) came together earlier this year to support and advance equitable evaluation study and practice. As a part of this commitment, we offered a webinar sharing experiences of two foundations, Kresge and the Oregon Community Foundation, who are testing the waters of equitable evaluation. Kate Seely from Northern California Grantmakers shares reflections from the webinar.

What started out two years ago as a simple “strategic plan refresh” quickly became a completely new direction for Blue Shield of California Foundation in our journey to make California the healthiest state and to end domestic violence. This post, which originally appeared on the Blue Shield of California Foundation's website, reflects on key lessons of listening, equity and humility.

Throughout my career, I have committed myself to service. First, as a community organizer, nonprofit practitioner and grantmaker; then, as a leadership coach, racial equity trainer and executive, I eagerly attempted to test and learn strategies for cultivating thriving communities. The cumulative impact of these experiences has informed a personal vision grounded in a strong desire to lead change in society in a manner that leverages the collective wisdom of each person, family and institution.

This is a cross-post of an article written by Scott Heimlich of the Amgen Foundation on learning, evaluation and measuring success. For the full article, visit: https://www.linkedin.com/pulse/how-do-we-measure-success-thoughts-soccer-goals-social-scott-heimlich