Resources

We are contemplating creating a small grant making program to honor the legacy of the founder of our foundation.

Making the most of your discussions

For those foundation who do hire outside evaluators to evaluate overarching grant strategies that require some involvement of grantees or grantees’ target populations, do you use an IRB of any kind?

Member Story: The Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation

Has anyone used online spaces to connect grantees? If so, what types of systems have you used? How many grantees did you organize on it? Also, did Foundation staff play an active role in the management of the online system or were grantees able to keep it active themselves?

What funders out there are either currently funding social enterprises (and if so, how and why), or are thinking about it (and why)?

We are interested in learning about like-minded local affinity groups in other jurisdictions, specifically what spurred the creation of the group, what issues do you focus on or lens do you apply to your work, and what was your process for arriving at that focus?

Taking time early in the grantmaking process to map out the stakeholders affected by our work, and their position in the ecosystem, helps creates a deeper understanding of key issues. It also prepares us to address future concerns and to tap stakeholder expertise in a proactive way that helps build agreement and buy-in that ultimately leads to more effective programs. In order to do this well, grantmakers need to master stakeholder analysis and determine how to bring key players into decision-making.

Empathy is one of the main reasons individual and institutional philanthropy exist. Grantmakers in communities across the country and around the world are mission-bound to try and help people and communities overcome challenges in order to thrive.

Due diligence is a process that helps grantmakers get to know grantseekers. Typically, it’s seen strictly as a means to ensure an organization’s financial and legal compliance. However, when done well, due diligence has the potential to provide insight into such critical attributes as the role of the organization’s board, the position the nonprofit holds in its field and community, and the level of alignment between our own mission and the goals of the grantseeker.