Digital Commons Network^™

Designing Technical-Assistance Programs: Considerations For Funders And Lessons Learned, Jennifer Lyons, Sheila Dunleavy Hoag, Cara Orfield, Sonya Streeter

The Foundation Review

As foundations continue to provide grantees with technical assistance in addition to financial support, it is important to understand what works well, for whom, and in what circumstances. This reflective practice article aims to help funders who have identified a problem amenable to technical assistance to develop a strong program by providing support to a group of organizations addressing similar problems or by providing customized individual support.

Drawing on insights from evaluations of two technical-assistance programs, this article recommends five key issues for funders to consider when offering such a program: whose priorities will shape the agenda, how group composition …

Book Review: American Generosity: Who Gives And Why By Patricia Snell Herzog & Heather E. Price, Jason Franklin

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Executive Summaries

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Front Matter

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Editorial, Teresa R. Behrens

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Lessons About Evaluating Health-Coverage Advocacy Across Multiple Campaigns And Foundations, Leslie Foster, Mary Harrington, Sheila Hoag, Debra Lipson

The Foundation Review

This article draws on a dozen years’ experience in evaluating major consumerhealth advocacy initiatives to build the knowledge base about advocacy evaluation. The authors explain how their evaluations were strengthened by articulating a detailed theory of change and emphasizing assessment of interim outcomes from many perspectives and methods.

Even with comprehensive data and integrated analysis, however, some ambiguity in the results is inevitable; there is no completely objective way to determine the effectiveness of an advocacy initiative. Moreover, sometimes solid or even exceptional advocacy efforts do not lead to desired policy outcomes. Advocacy initiatives that fail initially may be groundwork …

Full Issue

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Back Matter

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Through The Looking Glass: Foundation Evaluation And Learning And The Quest For Strategic Learning, Suzanne Kennedy Leahy, Sandra Wegmann, Lexi Nolen

The Foundation Review

Strategic learning, a critical if relatively new lens for philanthropy, is neither simple nor efficient to institutionalize or practice yet — foundations are still figuring out how to do it well. In 2015, the Episcopal Health Foundation launched a project to distill lessons about how leading foundations configure evaluation and learning, and how they allocate related responsibilities in support of strategic learning.

This article addresses different models that foundations use to establish and staff evaluation and learning functions, what other organizational considerations they should take into account in order to prioritize strategic-learning work, and what tools and approaches can be …

Aiming High: Foundation Support For State Advocates Brings Universal Children’S Health Coverage Within Reach, Sheila Dunleavy Hoag, Debra J. Lipson, Victoria Peebles

The Foundation Review

To help close the children’s health insurance coverage gap in the United States, in 2011 the Atlantic Philanthropies created the Kids- Well Campaign. KidsWell’s theory of change posits that if advocates could leverage new funding and coverage opportunities created by the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act, they could expand the number of children with health insurance coverage.

This article presents the major results of the KidsWell evaluation, which found substantial progress in achieving KidsWell interim policy changes and coverage outcomes. But advocates still have a full agenda, which means grantees and funders need to redouble efforts to educate the …

Laying The Groundwork For A National Impact Investing Marketplace, Stephanie L. Gripne, Joanne Kelley, Kathy Merchant

The Foundation Review

The practice of impact investing is rapidly gaining momentum, but the level of activity among individual and institutional investors, including philanthropists and foundations, has barely penetrated projections of market potential.

The marketplace that should connect impact investors with investees or social ventures does not function effectively.

Developing cost-effective ways to engage new investors and break down barriers to investment is an essential part of growing the industry.

Developing cost-effective ways to “prime the pump” for social ventures to become investor-ready — through a capacity-building process that includes outreach, education, and technical assistance — is an essential part of growing the …

Economic Impact Of Small Scale Event To The Local Economy: Case Of Canfield Fair, Sungsoo Kim, James Dombrosky

Journal of Tourism Insights

This study examines the economic contribution of the Canfield Fair on the local community. The fair accounted for $13,419,332 in new money generated in the local economy and total expenditures of $16,874,927. Out of this total, $9,578,936 was generated from out-of-town visitors, versus $7,295,991 from local attendees. The initial amount of $9,578,936 spent by visitors created direct, indirect, and induced impacts within the local economy. The direct effect of this spending as estimated by an IMPLAN input/output model was $8,166,956, with $2,880,940 and $2,371,436 as indirect and induced impacts respectively, for a total aggregate effect on local earnings of $13,419,332.

Understanding Coastal Tourists' Behavioral Intentions Toward Nature-Based Experiences, Lauren Jackowitz, Pavlina Latkova, Patrick Tierney, Judi Strebel

Journal of Tourism Insights

Ecotourism is a viable alternative to mass tourism in promoting a sustainable tourism industry. Ecotourism evolved from tourism providers who began to focus their services on educating tourists about the natural environmental and promoting conservation efforts. Past studies have shown that ecotourism programs have the ability to change tourists’ environmental attitudes and behaviors. Prior research has investigated that interpretation in the form of educating tourists about the natural environment through hands on experiences can result in a deeper appreciation for nature. However, research has yet to examine environmental attitudes and behaviors of tourists from a gender perspective and more research …

Respondent Rated Importance Versus Calculated Significance: Which Is More Valid?, Asli D.A. Tasci

Journal of Tourism Insights

Importance rating scales are utilized to define the importance of factors for certain behavior of different study populations including consumers. However, the findings on important factors are usually not checked for validity by comparing with different methods. The current study compares a direct measure with an indirect measure: 1) respondents’ importance ratings of consumer based brand equity (CBBE) components on their choosing a destination for their next vacation (an indicator of loyalty); 2) calculated significance of the same CBBE components on affecting their likelihood to visit a destination (an indicator of loyalty). Results show that the direct measures, or respondents’ …

Applying The Holistic Conceptual Conservation Framework For Sustainable Tourism, George Alexakis, Larry Rice

Journal of Tourism Insights

The tourism and hospitality industry has not always followed sound environmental stewardship. Increased awareness among tourists worldwide has prompted sustainabilit­y discourse encouraging long-term systemic approaches to planning and development. The research article proposes a holistic conceptual conservation framework that shows how a united tourism and hospitality industry can curtail the processes of environmental destruction and collectively offer authentic touristic experiences. Visitors can fully experience tourist destinations through integrated ecotourism, ethnotourism, and other related tangential offerings alongside those of larger tourism and hospitality providers. The conservation framework hypothetically strengthens the customer loyalty of tourists towards all industry operators and related practitioners, …

Tourism Planning In The Northern Bahamas, Joshua Carroll Ph.D., Emily Farmer, Shannon Saa

Journal of Tourism Insights

The Abaco region of the northern Bahamas is developing its niche as a nature-based tourism destination with a wealth of natural and cultural attractions such as beaches, snorkel and dive sites, blue holes, cultural features, vibrant history, and colorful towns and artistry. Part of this effort is the development of the Abaco Trail, which will highlight regional attractions and link them together for visitors to follow on their own, fulfilling their own interests as their visit allows. In this study, the Tourism Opportunity Spectrum (TOS) was used to gather information to aid in the process of assembling tourism site conditions …

Executive Summaries

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Full Issue

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Tackling Big Issues Together: The Story Of One Funders Network Promoting The Mental Health Of Young Children, Whitney Gustin Connor, Colleen Church, Barbara Yondorf

The Foundation Review

In 2012, Rose Community Foundation and the Caring for Colorado Foundation supported an environmental scan on children’s behavioral health to better understand challenges and opportunities for philanthropic investment. In the wake of the report’s release they established the Funders Learning Network on Early Childhood Mental Health, an organization of more than 10 community, private, and family foundations, to develop shared strategies for promoting the behavioral health of young children and families.

This article examines the evolution of the network from a learning collaborative to an incubator for jointly funded initiatives. Among its collaborative funding efforts is LAUNCH Together, a five-year, …

How Do You Measure Up? Finding Fit Between Foundations And Their Evaluation Functions, Julia Coffman, Tanya Beer

The Foundation Review

As the number of foundations has grown, the philosophies and ways of working across the sector have diversified. This variance means that there is no one right model for how a foundation’s evaluation function should be designed. It is imperative for a foundation to think carefully about how the structure, position, focus, resources, and practices of its evaluation function can best fit its own needs and aspirations.

This article focuses on questions foundations can ask to assess that fit, and the specific considerations that can inform these decisions. It draws on 2015 benchmarking research conducted by the Center for Evaluation …

Disrupting A Foundation To Put Communities First In Colorado Philanthropy, Nancy Csuti, Gwyn Barley

The Foundation Review

This article explores how The Colorado Trust confronted the fact that the lives of many Coloradans remained fundamentally unchanged after years of nonprofit-led grantmaking and, in response, developed a community-led grantmaking process aimed at achieving a new vision of health equity.

These shifts led to significant changes both within The Trust and in long-standing relationships with many nonprofits. The Trust dissolved its program department and replaced the program officer position with a team of “community partners” tasked with building relationships with residents in far-flung regions of the state. Resident groups were empowered to identify the needs in their own communities, …

Reconciling Community-Based Versus Evidence-Based Philanthropy: A Case Study Of The Colorado Trust’S Early Initiatives, Douglas Easterling, Deborah Main

The Foundation Review

One of the dominant tensions in philanthropy involves the question of whether foundations should focus their grantmaking on projects that come from the community versus projects that have a base of scientific evidence. How a foundation answers this question leads to different strategic orientations.

This article describes how this tension was expressed and resolved during The Colorado Trust’s early years of initiative-based grantmaking. The community-based philosophy is illustrated through the Colorado Healthy Communities Initiative, while Home Visitation 2000 serves as an exemplar of the evidence-based approach. The Colorado School Health Education Initiative purposefully integrated the two philosophies.

The community-based and …

Back Matter

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Editorial, Teresa R. Behrens, Ned Calonge

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Front Matter

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Mission Shift: Using And Evaluating Strategic Communications To Implement Organizational Change, Taryn Fort, Kelci Price

The Foundation Review

Strategic communications can play a role in implementing organizational change by reinforcing understanding of and advancing audiences to accept the changes that impact them. The Colorado Health Foundation uses strategic communications as an integral tool in achieving its organizational mission to improve the health of all Coloradans. Evidence reveals that it was critical to successfully announcing and implementing significant changes to how the foundation operates and invests.

This article profiles the strategic communications approach, from its inception through the application of learnings gathered from a subsequent evaluation. The success of the foundation’s “change” communications strategy was rooted in use of …

Integrating Funders Into A Multisector Transit-Equity Collaborative: Lessons From The Field, Davian Gagne

The Foundation Review

This article examines the efforts of Mile High Connects, a collaborative working to ensure that the Denver region’s $7.8 billion transit project benefits low-income communities and communities of color by connecting them to affordable housing, healthy environments, quality education, and good-paying jobs.

The collaborative, which includes local and national funders that have coalesced around the central issue of transit equity, has adopted a collective-impact model that has at its core two tools to measure and track its work and to show the social-impact outcomes achieved through its initiatives.

This article describes the collaborative’s approach to evaluation, reflects on its initial …

Front Matter

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Full Issue

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

A New Domain For Place-Rooted Foundations: Economic Development Philanthropy, Deborah Markley, Janet Topolsky, Don Macke, Travis Green, Kristin Feierabend

The Foundation Review

This article suggests that economic development philanthropy is a new domain for place-rooted foundations, and highlights the important system-actor role that these foundations can and are playing to advance economic development that produces better outcomes for families and communities.

Economic development philanthropy requires foundations to play integrating or missing roles to advance regional economic development – that they act to fill gaps that other organizations and agencies in the community or region are not addressing. To ensure that a foundation is playing this value-added role requires identifying what others are doing and the outcomes they are seeking or achieving – …