Nonprofit Administration and Management Commons^™

Leveraging Grant-Making—Part 2: Aligning Programmatic Approaches With Complex System Dynamics, David Peter Stroh, Kathleen A. Zurcher

The Foundation Review

· The purpose of this two-part article is to enable foundations to increase the leverage of their grantmaking resources by working effectively with the dynamics of complex social systems.

· This article examines how foundations can align planning, implementation, and evaluation efforts with the behavior of the social systems they seek to improve.

· Asking powerful questions of staff, board, grantees, and other stakeholders helps to transform how they think about their goals and strategies.

· In addition to using the power of questioning, foundations function more systemically by suspending their assumptions about their effectiveness and what is possible, creating …

Executive Summaries

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Demonstrating The Value Of Social Service Programs: A Simplified Approach To Calculating Return On Investment, Herbert M. Baum, Andrew H. Gluck, Bernice S. Smoot, William H. Wubbenhorst

The Foundation Review

· In 2008, as charitable giving dropped by $6.4 billion, 54 percent of human service programs saw an increase in the need for their services. Additionally, 74 percent of programs specifically serving children and youth reported being underfunded or severely underfunded.

· As government and foundation grantmakers transition from charitable giving to social investment, a Gates Foundation report on eight methodologies to assist measuring social value creation finds the methodologies are many years away from being suitable for both nonprofits and grantmakers.

· To better recognize and communicate the work of frontline practitioners, there is a need to change the …

Speak Your Peace: A Communications Strategy For Changing Community Culture, Douglas Easterling, Holly C. Sampson, Beth Probst

The Foundation Review

· Strategic communications can play a crucial role in advancing tangible community-wide impacts.

· “Speak Your Peace: The Civility Project” (SYP) was developed by The Duluth Superior Area Community Foundation and the Millennium Group to improve the civility of public discourse, under the premise that this would strengthen community decision making, expand civic engagement, and increase residents’ interest in elected office.

· The SYP campaign promotes nine principles (or “tools”) adapted from Forni’s book Choosing Civility (e.g., pay attention, take responsibility, apologize, give constructive criticism).

· City councils, county commissions, and school boards in the region adopted the nine tools …

Editorial, Teresa R. Behrens

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Philanthropy, Evaluation, Accountability, And Social Change, John Bare

The Foundation Review

· Many foundations have substituted process accountability for accountability for contributing to social change.

· While process accountability is important, it sets a floor, not an aspirational ceiling.

· There are tools—such as risk analysis, systems approaches, and game theory—that can help philanthropy engage in work on complex social problems that cannot be deconstructed into a series of small, linear projects.

· Seeking to extend basic human rights to more individuals around the world, seeking to reduce racism in a given city, or seeking to change publichealth norms in small town—all of these aspirations require first a willingness to take …

Factors Influencing Donor Partnership Effectiveness, Danièle St-Pierre, Lisa Burley

The Foundation Review

· The International Development Research Centre (IDRC) produced six case studies on jointly funded programs related to the environment, global health, and information technologies in developing regions around the world.

· A two-dimensional tool probing eight factors that influence donor (funder) partnership performance and interinstitutional communication was developed and used in conjunction with a Partnering Process Model to guide the preparation of the case studies.

· The case studies demonstrated that communication is important externally, that is, among donor partners, and internally, that is, within the various divisions of IDRC. With the use of this tool, it was possible to …

Enrolling The Eligible: Lessons For Funders, Beth Stevens, Sheila Dunleavy Hoag, Judith Wooldridge

The Foundation Review

· Many social programs have a gap between the number of individuals eligible for services and the number enrolled.

· The Robert Wood Johnson Foundation implemented Covering Kids & Families to increase enrollment in Medicaid and the State Children’s Health Insurance Program.

· Grantees sought to increase enrollment by raising awareness among low-income families, simplifying the application process, and coordinating among programs.

· Funders are encouraged to consider the lifecycle of programs and organizations, the skills in coalition-building and working with public officials that are needed, and the need to fit political strategies with the local culture.

Editorial, Teresa R. Behrens

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Foundation Evaluation Startup: A Pause For Reflection, Jill M. Yegian

The Foundation Review

· This article reports on the accomplishments, challenges, and lessons learned in creating a new Department of Research and Evaluation at the California HealthCare Foundation.

· Different tools were developed to address each of three key areas: performance assessment, organizational learning, and program evaluation.

· These new processes and tools have been wellreceived by both staff and the board, and have become increasingly important as resources become more scarce, making understanding and maximizing the impact of investments even more critical.

· Fostering a culture of evaluative inquiry in a fast-paced, payout-oriented environment is a significant challenge – program staff often …

Assessing Nonprofits’ Communications Capacity: An Online Self-Assessment Tool, Anne Reisinger Whatley, R. Christine Hershey, Julia Coffman, Andre Oliver

The Foundation Review

· Foundations increasingly recognize the importance of strategic and effective communications to advance their social-change goals. This article provides a framework that helps foundations to better understand the communications capacity of their grantee partners.

· Based on a detailed analysis of a survey of 529 foundations, universities and nonprofits, the authors created a six-point index that identifies the characteristics and practices of organizations that are ranked as highly effective at using communications to advance their goals.

· The six indicators are: Involvement of organization leadership in communications, communications planning and organization-wide planning, staffing and the use of outside expertise, donor …

Social Movements And Philanthropy: How Foundations Can Support Movement Building, Barbara Masters, Torie Osborn

The Foundation Review

· As foundations seek to catalyze broad-based social change, there is a need for greater understanding of what social movements are, how they evolve, and how foundations can support them.

· Movement building presents unique challenges to foundations. Because movements, by definition, must be driven by the people who are most affected, foundations cannot determine the goals and timetables of a movement.

· The authors identify five core elements to movement building: organizing an authentic base; leadership; vision and ideas; alliances; and advocacy infrastructure.

· A framework for evaluating movement building is proposed, which can help foundations identify measureable outcomes …

Executive Summaries

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Sustainability Is Made, Not Born: Enhancing Program Sustainability Through Reflective Grantmaking, Ann L. Mccracken, Kelly Firesheets

The Foundation Review

· This article explores how reflective grantmaking can lead to enduring changes in the communities that foundations serve.

· The Health Foundation of Greater Cincinnati's approach to evaluating and improving the sustainability of grant-funded projects is reviewed as an example.

· Their grantmaking framework includes policy and advocacy work, evaluation support, communications support, and technical assistance in addition to traditional funding of projects.

· This framework promotes sustainability of the funded work.

Who Becomes A Foundation Ceo? An Analysis Of Hiring Patterns, 2004-2008, Renée B. Branch, Michael P. Moody, Sue Marx Smock, Donna N. Bransford

The Foundation Review

· This study provided baseline data about the professional and individual characteristics of 440 candidates selected to be the top executive in a grantmaking institution during a five-year study period (2004-2008), and about the hiring patterns of the diverse institutions making these appointments.

· Most new chief executive officers (79.5 percent) were not hired from within the same foundation. The percentage of external appointments grew in each successive year of the study period.

· Most new foundation CEOs (67 percent) were not working for a grantmaking institution when they were appointed. This majority made the transition from fields outside of …

Building The Bridge For Diversity And Inclusion: Testing A Regional Strategy, Vicki Rosenberg, Lynn Perry Wooten, Mary Mcdonald, Kimberly Burton

The Foundation Review

· Transforming Michigan Philanthropy Through Diversity & Inclusion (TMP) is a six-year research and development effort of the Council of Michigan Foundations (CMF). A unique experiment, TMP is the only statewide, comprehensive effort to promote diversity and inclusiveness among foundations in the country.

· Organizational excellence through diversity and inclusion requires an organization to find a goal that resonates with its stakeholders and then create collaborative communities that focus on achieving that goal. This strategy positions an organization to use the full diversity of those stakeholders for tasks such as problem-solving, innovation, quality initiatives, and the acquisition of resources.

· …

Executive Summaries

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Constructing Collaborative Success For Network Learning: The Story Of The Discovery Community Self-Assessment Tool, Angela Frusciante, Carmen Siberon

The Foundation Review

· Despite conversations about the importance of community collaboration, foundations continue to struggle with how to best frame and support collaborative success.

· Existing tools to assess collaboration may not fit with either a foundation’s values or a specific program strategy.

· From a foundation perspective, developing a community self-assessment tool reinforced the idea that collaborative functioning is crucial and deserves attention.

· This article shares a story of the development and initial use of the Discovery Community Self-Assessment Tool as a process of social construction critical to collective action and a possible indicator of network learning.

Moving Diversity Up The Agenda: Lessons And Next Steps From The Diversity In Philanthropy Project, Jessica Bearman, Henry A. J. Ramos, Anna-Nanine S. Pond

The Foundation Review

· The Diversity in Philanthropy Project (DPP) was a three-year, voluntary effort of foundation trustees, senior staff, and executives of philanthropysupport organizations committed to increasing diversity and inclusive practice across organized philanthropy’s boards, staff, grantmaking, contracting, and investing.

· DPP had significant achievements, including mobilizing greater commitment among foundation leaders to voluntary action on diversity and enhancing both the knowledge base and data methodologies available for understanding diversity, inclusion, and equity in foundation work.

· The initiative also faced its share of challenges, including difficulty assessing the impact on the diversity performance of foundations, slow adoption of recommended principles and …

Paradigm Shift: A Foundation/Grantee Partnership Using Data To Drive Neighborhood Revitalization And Assess Impact, Lois W. Greco, Margaret Grieve, Maggie Mccullough

The Foundation Review

· The Wachovia Regional Foundation spearheaded the formation of a partnership to create a participatory outcome evaluation framework for its neighborhood revitalization work.

· The framework integrates the use of primary and secondary data and has been modified and improved to strengthen a variety of the foundation’s comprehensive neighborhood revitalization efforts.

· Forty-one community-based organizations have utilized the framework as a key tool to craft and implement neighborhood plans in a 62-county region.

· The framework has enabled grantees and residents to better understand and capitalize on market dynamics, enhance their participation in revitalization activities and begin to demonstrate the …

The Art Of Community Double Dutch: Knowing When To Jump In, Lesley Grady

The Foundation Review

· This article uses the childhood experience of learning how to play Double Dutch jump rope as an allegory to navigating complicated community leadership through civic engagement.

· There is both an art and a science to deciding when and why to work with a broad base of stakeholders to attempt comprehensive community change.

· The key lessons are the following: (1) follow the noise and find the excitement, (2) ask questions and get into conversations, (3) set the rules of the game, 4) keep score, 5) get the right equipment and players, 6) know when to jump in and …

Supporting Asian-American Civic Engagement: Theory And Practice, Wing Yi Chan

The Foundation Review

· This paper is a review of relevant research related to the civic engagement of Asian-American youth.

· Little work has been done to understand the civic engagement activities of Asian-American youth. However, unique promoters and barriers to Asian- American youth civic engagement exist, given this group’s distinct historical, cultural, and sociopolitical experiences.

· Asian-American youth may have two different ethnic and racial identities, and these identities may be related to different kinds of civic engagement. Asian-American students who have a stronger pan-Asian identity are more aware that their fate is linked with other Asian-Americans and therefore are more likely …

Beyond The Npr Crowd: How Evaluation Influenced Grantmaking At The California Council For The Humanities, Clare Nolan, Alden Mudge

The Foundation Review

· This article describes an initiative designed to engage a broad cross section of Californians in the humanities. Initial findings from book reading groups were that participants were predominantly white, middle-aged women.

· Changing the type of programming to include poetry slams, photography, digital media, and writing programs broadened participation of various ages and ethnic groups.

· The location of the program also made a difference, with schools and community-based organizations drawing more diverse audiences than libraries.

Editorial, Teresa R. Behrens

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Embedded Philanthropy And The Pursuit Of Civic Engagement, Mikael Karlström, Prudence Brown, Robert Chaskin, Harold Richman

The Foundation Review

· This article examines a range of civic engagement strategies pursued by embedded funders conducting community-change work in chronically disadvantaged communities.

· Embedded funders are place-based foundations that (1) commit to working in a particular community or communities over an extended period of time; (2) pursue direct and ongoing relationships with a range of community actors; (3) make community relationships and partnerships a primary vehicle of their philanthropic operation; and (4) provide extensive supports and resources beyond conventional grantmaking.

· Working as an embedded funder tends either to correlate with a prior commitment to civic engagement or to promote the …

Setting The Table For A Sustainable And Just Food System, Kien Lee, Kolu Zigbi, Marjorie Nemes

The Foundation Review

· As consumers and producers, people of color have been affected disproportionately by systemic problems in the food system.

· This article describes the Diversifying Leadership for Sustainable Food Policy initiative, a joint effort of the Jessie Smith Noyes Foundation and the W. K. Kellogg Foundation to build the capacity of organizations led by people of color to engage in policy and advocacy work.

· Grantees successfully built their capacity to engage in policy work (e.g., increased capacity to identify policy targets), increased their organizational capacity (e.g., diversified boards), improved their communities’ capacity (e.g., created opportunities for dialogue and improved …

Community-Based Collaboration: A Philanthropic Model For Positive Social Change, Lynda Frost, Susan Stone

The Foundation Review

· A highly publicized incident served as a catalyst for the Austin, Texas, community, convened by the Hogg Foundation for Mental Health, to address gaps in the behavioral health system.

· The foundation worked with the local behavioral health authority, the mayor’s office, police and sheriff’s departments, and the city health department to design the Austin Mayor’s Mental Health Task Force. The task force was succeeded by a monitoring committee that identified six focus areas in which to develop action plans and monitor community progress.

· This collaborative process aimed to strengthen public commitment to behavioral health services and create …

Youth Civic Engagement For Dialogue And Diversity At The Metropolitan Level, Barry Checkoway

The Foundation Review

· Youth civic engagement can take various forms, of which intergroup dialogue is one. Some forms – such as electoral participation – are inappropriate for young people.

· This article describes Youth Dialogues on Race and Ethnicity in Metropolitan Detroit, the nation’s most segregated metropolitan area.

· High-school-age students participated in intraand intergroup dialogues, metropolitan tours, residential retreats, and community action projects.

· Youth participants increased their knowledge of their own racial and ethnic identities and those of others, increased their awareness and understanding of racism and racial privilege, and developed leadership skills and took actions to challenge racism in …

Evaluating A Voter Outreach Initiative, Amy Dominguez Arms

The Foundation Review

· This article describes an initiative designed to increase voting rates among low-income and ethnic groups in southern and central California communities.

· A rigorous evaluation demonstrated that participation rates could be increased by up to 10% among these groups.

· Using local, well-trained canvassers and making contact during the four weeks preceding the election were some of the more effective practices.

Community Building For Children’S Health: Lessons From Community Partnerships For Healthy Children, Dorothy Meehan, Kathleen Hebbeler, Stacie Cherner, Dana Petersen

The Foundation Review

· This article describes Community Partnerships for Healthy Children (CPHC), a 10-year, $17 million initiative of the Sierra Health Foundation targeted at improving children’s health in northern California by mobilizing communities to use their assets. Implementation grants were modest ($50,000 annually), but technical assistance and communications support were also provided.

· The initiative rolled out in four phases. Overall, a total of 31 communities participated in the initiative. Twenty-six communities remained through phase three, with 18 engaging in the final fourth phase.

· Evidence indicates that CPHC improved the health of some children in some communities with regard to some …