Business Commons^™

The Yin And Yang Of Equity-Centered Philanthropy, Douglas Easterling, Laura Mcduffee, Sabina Gesell

The Foundation Review

Foundations face two competing imperatives when they commit to advancing equity. On the one hand, they are counseled to support and follow the lead of community-based groups that are on the front lines of social change. On the other hand, they are also being challenged to use their power and influence to act boldly to change inequitable structures, policies, and institutions. These two orientations, yin and yang, can take a foundation in different directions and thus cause confusion and internal conflict.

The challenge for a foundation is to balance and integrate the two orientations into a comprehensive and effective approach …

Media Relations Strategies Of Philanthropic Foundations: A Longitudinal Analysis Of News Releases Produced By Top U.S. Foundations, Richard D. Waters, Giselle Auger, Kelly Husted

The Foundation Review

Given their role in funding programs and services provided by nonprofit organizations, foundations have a critical role as advocates for social change. However, grant money is by itself not enough to create that change. Agenda-setting theory highlights the critical role of organizations in bringing change issues to the attention of the media and, therefore, the public. This article uses content analysis to compare two sets of a random sample of news releases from 20 of the largest foundations in the United States. The two sets are seven years apart, from 2014 and 2021, to allow comparison of the maturation of …

The Soft Stuff Doesn’T Have To Be Hard: Foundation Investments In Grantee Workers Are Necessary, Valuable, And Measurable, Rusty Stahl

The Foundation Review

There is an urgent need for funder investments in the ability of grantee nonprofit organizations to support their staff. Such investments, when done well, can yield significant value for individuals, organizations, and fields of work or movements. Furthermore, the value of these investments can be evaluated and communicated.

This article explores the reasons for and implications of the inadequate response by funders, offers a path forward for designing investments in grantee staff, and documents how funders can capture and communicate the value of these “talent investments.”

Powerful myths serve as barriers to widespread funder investment in grantee staff, and the …

Book Review: In Defence Of Philanthropy, Nabih Haddad

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Back Matter

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Executive Summaries

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Learning As We Go: How Emergent Process Supports Sustainable Community And Philanthropic Change, Elizabeth Myrick, Rachel Mosher-Williams, Laurie Zierer

The Foundation Review

Beginning in 2014, PA Humanities, one of 56 state and territorial humanities councils across the country, drew upon the work of Orton Family Foundation to deploy the Community Heart & Soul method, which centers community planning and civic engagement around connecting people to each other, and to the many assets of the places they live, through individual storytelling and collective narrative building.

Between 2015 and 2018, PA Humanities awarded matching grants to three locations in Pennsylvania — Greater Carlisle, Meadville, and Williamsport — to pilot PA Heart & Soul, a humanities-based, resident-driven community planning process that cultivates a shared sense …

Tfr 14.3 Full Issue

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Editorial, Teresa R. Behrens

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Defining Regenerative Business Through The Context Of Place: A Case Study West Michigan Businesses, Aislinn Teachout, Aislinn Teachout

Masters Theses

This study builds upon existing scholarly literature on regenerative design and regenerative sustainability by relating the framework to existing West Michigan businesses and their place-specific practices. Applying concepts from those more developed fields to business sustainability, this paper contributes to the still emerging field of regenerative business by proposing a comprehensive definition of regenerative business. The definition is then applied to three businesses in a case study format to highlight regenerative business practices. While none of the businesses highlighted claim to be regenerative, all have examples of practices that demonstrate regenerative action and enhance the West Michigan community.

By defining …

Total Taxation: An Examination Of The Total Tax Burden Of Individuals In The West Michigan Area, Connor C. Meech

Honors Projects

Have you ever thought about how much you might pay in tax each year, across all tax types? If you have, a chill probably went down your spine before you gave up thinking about it. When the subject is brought up, most people think primarily of income. The truth of the matter is that income tax is far from the only tax we pay. Throughout the year, Americans may end up also paying sales tax, property tax, fuel taxes, various sin taxes, and estate tax, just to name a few. With so many ways to be taxed, some of which …

Bus 201: Legal Environment For Business Oer Curation, Erica L. Schiller, Matt Ruen

Curated OER Collections

This OER curation is an annotated bibliography of prospective OER for the GVSU course BUS 201: Legal Environment for Business.

Examining Self-Efficacy Change As A Mediator Between Goal-Performance Discrepancy And Self-Set Goal Change, Kyle Brink

Open Access Publishing Support Funded Articles

This study investigates student goal setting in the undergraduate classroom environment. More specifically, this field study attempts to clarify the relation between goal-performance discrepancies and self-set goal change by examining student self-efficacy change as a mediator variable. Learning goal orientation and performance goal orientation were tested as moderators of the relationship between goal-performance discrepancy and self-efficacy change. The results clarify the goal-setting process over time, and the important role of student self-efficacy in goal revision and self-regulatory processes. Implications for instructors in higher education are discussed.

Jujutsu Persuasion: Learning How To Coopt With Another’S Values, Robert D. Costigan, Kyle Brink

Open Access Publishing Support Funded Articles

The purpose of this pedagogical paper is to present three innovative exercises that foster learning of oral-persuasion skills at the undergraduate and graduate levels. Namely, business students are instructed to frame their arguments on delicate issues with the other person’s values. The technique is called jujutsu persuasion because it uses an adversary’s force (i.e., their key values) against them, instead of attempting to persuade with one’s own values. Prior research has shown that jujutsu persuasion can moderate the other person’s more extreme attitudes and reduce their defensiveness. Using Bloom’s Taxonomy as a framework, the first exercise develops knowledge and understanding …

Respectful Tribal Partnership: What Philanthropy Can Learn From The Navajo Nation’S Collaborative Response To The Covid-19 Crisis, Nancy Petersen, Karletta Chief, Toni M. Massaro, Nikki Tulley, Crystal Tulley-Cordova, Jonelle Vold

The Foundation Review

The gravity of the COVID-19 pandemic and its disparately harsh impact on Indigenous peoples are now well known. U.S. death rates normalized by population, for example, have been far higher for Native Americans than for the white population in the United States. Many funders, realizing that basic human services are lacking for many Native American and Indigenous communities, have responded to the crisis. While this desire to act is laudable, many fail to grasp the complexities and necessity of applying trust-based collaborative principles that respect tribes as sovereign nations.

This article describes a successful model for collaboration among a tribal …

Front Matter 14.1 And 14.2

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Executive Summaries

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Editorial 14.1 And 14.2, Teri Behrens

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Immediate Needs And Systemic Solutions: Harnessing A Collective Crisis Response By Regional Philanthropy Alongside Systemic Change, Clotilde Perez-Bode Dedecker, Nancy M. Blaschak

The Foundation Review

On March 13, 2020, the Community Foundation for Greater Buffalo invited the John R. Oishei Foundation, the Health Foundation for Western & Central New York, and United Way of Buffalo & Erie County to convene all funders in western New York to respond collectively to the impending COVID-19 crisis. Funding was raised swiftly and, using a racial equity lens, more than $14.2 million was granted in 18 months to more than 400 nonprofits of all sizes serving on the front lines in eight counties.

While emergency funding was the first priority for the collective group of more than 60 foundations, …

Full Issue 14.1 And 14.2

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Out Of Crisis, Learnings Shape Future Grantmaking, Stacie S. Cherner

The Foundation Review

Like other philanthropic organizations during the early weeks of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Jim Joseph Foundation took steps to loosen grant requirements, support CEOs and leadership teams, and provide funding for emergencies and innovations.

The foundation, which strives to bring consistent expertise with evaluation and research in untroubled times and whose mission is to foster effective Jewish learning experiences for young Jews, has a unique perspective when reflecting on learning. So another area that required flexibility was in the re-examination of learning plans to take advantage of the “forced experimentation” imposed by the pandemic lockdown.

In March 2020, the foundation …

Front Matter 14.1 And 14.2

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

How A Community Foundation’S Disaster Framework Guided Rapid Pandemic Response, Steven W. Mumford, Isabel Barrios, Kellie Chavez Greene

The Foundation Review

Disasters create opportunities for philanthropy to rebuild equitably by prioritizing the most vulnerable community members in disaster response and addressing existing disparities and structural inequities in the recovery phase. As intermediaries between donors and local communities, community foundations are well-positioned to lead transformational disaster response.

Through its experience with Hurricane Katrina and subsequent disasters in the region, the Greater New Orleans Foundation developed a flexible disaster framework that emphasizes four broad principles — resilience, sustainability, civic participation, and equity — and specific practices in each area to guide rapid and long-term disaster response and preparedness. This article describes how the …

Back Matter 14.1 And 14.2

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Editorial 14.1 And 14.2, Teresa R. Behrens

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Diving Deep On Equity And Power: Exploring Shifts In Philanthropic Practice With The Iceberg Model, Sonia Taddy-Sandino, Kim Ammann Howard, Lori Nascimento

The Foundation Review

Lessons from the events of this historic time — from a national reckoning with systemic racism to a global pandemic and its economic and social fallout — have deep implications for philanthropy that go beyond grantmaking and include fundamental questions about the sector’s role, power, and influence in advancing equity and social change. Confronting those questions requires a look inward at the practices, policies, structures, mindsets, and cultural norms that govern how foundations operate.

The experience of The California Endowment and The James Irvine Foundation shows what can be learned from this period of crisis and disruption. Through specific examples …

Back Matter 14.1 And 14.2

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Full Issue 14.1 And 14.2

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Are Lonely Salespeople Costing You Customers?, Valerie Good, Lisa Earle Mcleod

Other Faculty Publications

As customer interactions have shifted to Zoom, sales jobs have become increasingly transactional and lonely. Recent research suggests this is a costly problem that goes beyond a hit to morale: It’s actually causing three problematic behaviors — social awkwardness, impaired memory, and conspicuous overspending on customers — that could damage business performance. The authors offer eight strategies managers can implement to help salespeople feel less lonely and ensure your team is approaching customers with confidence.

The Role Of Perceived Organizational Support In Anxiety And Depression, Chloe Dingens

Honors Projects

This study seeks to explore the relationships between employees’ levels of perceived organizational support (POS) and their levels of anxiety and depression. Eisenberger et al. (1986, p. 500) defines POS as an employee's perception about how much the organization they work for values them and cares about their well-being. It was hypothesized that workers who experience higher POS will report lower anxiety and depression. Survey data were collected from 494 adults who worked an average of 39.9 hours per week (SD = 8.3). Participants completed survey measures of POS, anxiety, and depression, and reported demographics (e.g., job tenure) that were …