Business Commons^™

Review Of Systems Thinking For Social Change: A Practical Guide To Solving Complex Problems, Avoiding Unintended Consequences, And Achieving Lasting Results, Hilda Vega

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Participatory Decision-Making In Contested Societies: Examples From The Field Of Community Philanthropy, Avila Kilmurray

The Foundation Review

This article examines participatory, placebased philanthropy in two locations, Northern Ireland and Palestine, drawing on the work of the Community Foundation for Northern Ireland’s Fair Share Programme and the Dalia Association’s Village Decides initiative.

The article considers the rationale for a participatory grantmaking approach as well as the manner in which local communities and residents experienced the methodology, and describes and evaluates the role com-munity philanthropy org-anizations played in providing an important added-value dimension to traditional grantmaking.

The fact that both Northern Ireland and Palestine are politically contested societies is factored into the analysis presented by the author, who conducted …

Activating The Power Of Place: A Case Study Of Market Creek, Elizabeth Castillo, Angela Titus

The Foundation Review

This article tells the story of a placed-based initiative to develop well-being and wealth in the historically underserved Diamond Neighborhood in San Diego, and discusses the place-based philosophy of the Jacobs Center for Neighborhood Innovation and the foundation’s motivation for place-based work.

Its theory of change is presented through examples, along with the entry points the foundation chose for engagement and how it developed community capacity to engage effectively in this change work.

The article also discusses plans to transition ownership to the Diamond Neighborhood community when the foundation sunsets in 2030.

Back Matter

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

The Boston Foundation’S Collaborate Boston Prize, Jennifer Aronson

The Foundation Review

This article describes how the Boston Foundation is leveraging Collaborate Boston, a competition launched in 2013, as a tool to support interorganizational and cross-sector collaboration in greater Boston to catalyze, surface, and implement ideas that have the potential to strengthen communities facing complex challenges.

After a discussion of Collaborate Boston’s theory of change and the prize design and process, the article shares early results from the inaugural 2013 competition, the foundation’s reflections, and subsequent iterations for 2014 and beyond.

The article concludes with an examination of the ways a prize can be a powerful tool for social change, and outlines …

Executive Summaries

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Network Evaluation In Practice: Approaches And Applications, Madeleine Taylor, Anne Whatley, Julia Coffman

The Foundation Review

As more funders support networks as a mechanism for social change, new and practical knowledge is emerging about how to build and support effective networks. Based on extensive review of different types of networks and their evaluations, and on interviews with funders, network practitioners, and evaluation experts, the authors have developed an accessible framework for evaluating networks.

This article describes the evaluation framework and its three pillars of network assessment: network connectivity, network health, and network results.

Also presented are case examples of foundationfunded network evaluations focused on each pillar, which include practical information on evaluation designs, methods, and results, …

Editorial, Teri Behrens

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Building An Organizational Culture That Supports Philanthropy In Indian Country: A Funder’S Story, Adam Kintopf, Nicole Toves Villaluz, Jaime Martínez, Barbara Schillo, Y. Elaine Rasmussen

The Foundation Review

This article examines one philanthropic organization’s project to overcome challenges around its work in Indian Country and to build support for that work among its leadership.

ClearWay Minnesota, an independent nonprofit working to reduce commercial tobacco’s harm, embarked on a project to educate its board and staff about American Indian history and culture. The project resulted in an increase in staff expertise, valuable context for the organization’s leadership, relationships built with Native individuals and organizations, and the integration of American Indian concepts into more aspects of ClearWay’s work. The organization’s board and staff report improved ability to achieve success in …

Catalytic Funding, Partnership, Evaluation, And Advocacy: Innovation Strategies For Community Impact, Lora Warner

The Foundation Review

With long-term commitments to concentrated geographic regions, community foundations are in a unique position to highlight problems and stimulate other nonprofit organizations and funders to develop local solutions. Seizing an opportunity to address a growing community concern over cutbacks in youth arts education, the Community Foundation for the Fox Valley Region undertook an initiative that utilized several innovation strategies in a way that would impact the community and its own work.

This article describes how the foundation combined catalytic funding, partnership with grantees, creative use of evaluation, and design of advocacy tools to promote and strengthen youth arts programming. The …

Front Matter

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Grey Matter(S): Embracing The Publisher Within, Lisa Brooks, Gabriela Fitz

The Foundation Review

Most foundations don’t think of themselves as publishers, yet many of them act as such – making information available by funding research and publications, or by authoring their own. And failing to think of these activities as publishing efforts has serious consequences for shared learning in the social sector.

The shift toward knowledge-sharing strategies and approaches that embrace new search technologies, the logic of open access and open source, and the realities of the Internet as a largely decentralized and dynamic selfpublishing space offers the possibility of coordinating publishing efforts, and possibly agreeing to the use of shared practices that …

Back Matter

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Strategy Design Amid Complexity: Tools For Designing And Implementing Adaptive Funding Strategies, Erica Snow, Jewlya Lynn, Tanya Beer

The Foundation Review

Increasingly, foundations recognize the importance of designing adaptive strategies that can respond to complex environments and problems. Recent articles have cautioned against practices common in strategic philanthropy that hinder the ability of foundations and grantees to account for changing contexts and adapt their strategies accordingly.

But understanding the importance of and barriers to adaptive strategy is not sufficient. Foundations now need processes and tools to create and implement adaptive strategies while also addressing the core dilemmas such strategies create: managing accountability in the context of adaptation, adapting at the right level, and responding to changes in context without creating too …

We're All In This Together: Mentoring In Academic Libraries (Poster), Matt Ruen, Cara Cadena, Betsy Williams

Presentations

Navigating a new job can be difficult for both new and experienced librarians. How will you learn “the way we do things here”? Mentoring can play a key role in helping librarians find their way to becoming effective professionals. Grand Valley State University currently has several formal mentoring programs for new librarians, in addition to informal mentoring. Our poster will discuss GVSU’s mentoring programs and the purposes they serve—acclimating to university culture, developing position-specific skills, and successfully participating in the scholarly process. We will include our experiences and perspectives as recent participants in these programs. This discussion will include insights …

Use Of Consultants By U.S. Foundations: Results Of A Foundation Center Survey, Lawrence T. Mcgill, Brenda L. Henry-Sanchez, David Wolcheck, Sarah Reibstein

The Foundation Review

This article presents the results of a survey launched in January 2014 by Foundation Center, in collaboration with the National Network of Consultants to Grantmakers, examining use of consultants by community, corporate, and independent foundations whose annual giving totals at least $100,000.

The survey asked funders to report whether they used consultants in the past two years and, if so, how frequently and for what purposes; they were also asked to report their level of satisfaction with consultants’ work. Funders that did not engage consultants in the last two years were asked why not. The survey also sought open-ended responses …

Both Sides Of The Equation, Barbara D. Kibbe

The Foundation Review

Client and consultant can have fundamentally different perspectives on the progress and success of a consulting engagement. This article explores the insights and lessons learned by a dozen professionals who have been on both sides of the equation in consulting to philanthropy.

There are occasions when client and consultant are well matched and value is created. But there are also cases where consultants are delivering a formulaic or hyperrational response into a very human system, or where the idiosyncrasies of foundation work prove barriers to positive results. Consultants have a critical role to play, and clients have a right to …

Balancing Content And Process Expertise In The Practice Of Foundation Consulting, Chris Cardona

The Foundation Review

Despite foundations’ frequent recourse to consultants, little, if anything, has been written on the expertise required of foundation consultants and how they cultivate it. This article looks at the types of expertise that these consultants bring to their work and for which their clients hire them.

This expertise falls into three categories: process expertise, or what the consultant does with the client; content expertise, or what the grantmaker does; and hybrid expertise, consultant processes that are their own subject areas.

This article also offers examples of how content, process, and/or hybrid expertise might combine to address particular foundation needs, and …

Back Matter

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Review Of The Social Profit Handbook: The Essential Guide To Setting Goals, Assessing Outcomes, And Achieving Success For Mission-Driven Organizations, Paul G. Putman

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Front Matter

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Executive Summaries

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

How To Implement A Funder-Supported Advocacy Effort And The Integral Role Of Policy Consultants, Deena Margolis, Leah Ersoylu

The Foundation Review

There has been growing recognition in the philanthropic field that public-policy engagement and advocacy are critical strategic investments to support social change. For those foundations that are new to advocacy or are contemplating adding this type of work to their portfolio, however, this can be a significant shift in how they do business.

Before a foundation engages in this type of work, it is critical that leadership and staff understand the role and potential impact of foundations in the advocacy and policy arenas, the practical considerations of how best to engage in advocacy and policy work, and the role of …

Shine A Light: The Role Of Consultants In Fostering A Learning Culture At Foundations, Jared Raynor, Ashley Blanchard, Marieke Spence

The Foundation Review

Noticeably absent on the list of reasons foundations cite for engaging consultants is learning – a particularly important attribute for foundations that grapple with complex issues in dynamic environments.

Consultants are particularly well positioned to help foundations in the learning process. They help organizations understand and create models and frameworks, implement strategies and mechanisms within them, overcome roadblocks to learning, and put them on a path toward a dynamic and sustainable learning culture.

This article proposes that being explicit about the value of fostering a learning culture in a foundation within the context of any consulting engagement will enable both …

Understanding Philanthropy Consulting: A Tool To Identify The Roles And Capabilities Needed From External Support, Brian Leslie, Kelsey Noonan, Clint Nohavec

The Foundation Review

This article categorizes the distinct roles played by philanthropy consultants and presents a tool and framework for charitable foundations to identify and evaluate the roles and capabilities they need from those consultants.

The article categorizes seven capability areas, from strategy setting to talent development, that are core to all foundations. Then, it identifies trigger points within these capability areas that lead foundations to undertake projects that may require outside support. Third, the article maps the capabilities that foundations consider in determining whether and how to engage philanthropy consultants.

The resulting tool is scalable and broadly applicable, providing foundation staff and …

The Family Foundation Life Cycle And The Role Of Consultants, Melissa L. Nemon, Claudia J. Jacobs, Mary Phillips, Judy Sneath

The Foundation Review

The dynamics unique to family foundations, including a dedication to preserving a legacy and to sharing decision-making among family members, are often a significant influence on a foundation’s governance and operations and may extend to how their experiences with consultants differ from those of other foundations or nonprofits.

This article, which draws on a survey and interviews with family foundations asking why, when, and how they hire consultants, looks at common experiences that lead family foundations to seek external help and how these foundations can learn from the experiences of their peers.

This article introduces the Family Foundation Life Cycle …

Editorial, Kris Putnam-Walkerly

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Effective Consulting Partnerships To Philanthropy, Ellen Irie, Kim Ammann Howard, Ria Sengupta Bhatt, Naomi Orensten

The Foundation Review

This article explores the realm of partnerships among consultants who are supporting philanthropy, surfaces the forms those philanthropy-consulting partnerships take, and describes their benefits and inherent challenges. It also describes what foundations most need to know about initiating and supporting philanthropy-consulting partnerships.

Types of consulting partnerships are a function of the needs they address and the contexts in which they were initiated. A useful way of looking at consulting partnerships is according to their structure – whether the relationship with the client is primarily horizontal or vertical in nature. In a vertical structure, a client hires a consultant, who in …

Going Beyond Grantmaking: Using External Help To Extend A Foundation’S Core Competencies And Increase Its Impact, Gwen Walden,, Lauren Marra, Katrina Briddell

The Foundation Review

The drive to achieve impact beyond grantmaking represents a paradigm shift in the way foundations seek to make social change. By bringing to bear new resources and thinking, this shift has the potential to amplify the impact of the philanthropic sector. Consultants and other intermediaries have critical roles to play in extending and enhancing this impact.

This article explores the opportunities and challenges inherent in foundations’ efforts to go beyond grantmaking and examines how they can – and cannot – effectively use consultants and other intermediaries to enhance such efforts. It presents three cases: incubating and launching a new organization, …

How Technology Is Killing Privacy, John Alexander

Honors Projects

Privacy concerns seem to come up daily in the news these days, whether it be government spying through the NSA or people willingly giving information about themselves away on social media. It seems as if no one has any privacy anymore. As actor Will Smith said in a recent interview on the show ‘Vecherniy Urgant’, “I was very dumb when I was 14. See, no Twitter, no Facebook when I was 14. So I was dumb, but I was dumb in private.” His view is a common one – that people, especially young people, are being exposed to privacy risks …