Public Policy Commons^™

Holding Foundations Accountable For Equity Commitments, Tanya Beer, Patricia Patrizi, Julia Coffman

The Foundation Review

In recent years, foundations of all types and sizes have made commitments to advance racial equity and justice. But good intentions can be undermined by the strategic and administrative structures and processes that shape foundation decisions. Social critics have deconstructed and shed light on the ways in which institutional operating procedures reinforce racism and other forms of injustice in police departments, the courts, and health and welfare agencies. So too, foundation practices warrant serious review.

This article examines how foundation strategy, evaluation, grantee reporting, and monitoring processes have allowed foundations to retain their power and sidestep direct accountability to the …

Strategy Resilience: Getting Wise About Philanthropic Strategy In A Post-Pandemic World, Jewlya Lynn, Clare Nolan, Peter Waring

The Foundation Review

Public and private systems worldwide have been disrupted by COVID-19, cutting across all types of philanthropic priorities. Amid this uncertainty, some philanthropic strategies have struggled to find their footing while others have adapted easily, harnessing previously unanticipated opportunities to achieve change. Why have some philanthropic strategies been more successful than others? What wisdom can we draw from this moment that can help us prepare for the future?

During times of crisis, the concept of resilience is frequently applied to nonprofit organizations and their leaders. This article flips the vantage point toward funders, proposing a theory to explain what makes some …

(In)Equality Through Unrestricted Grantmaking: Examining Trust And Power In The Collaboration Between The Dutch Charity Lotteries And Their Grantees, Olivier Hunnik, Arjen De Wit, Pamala Wiepking

The Foundation Review

Since 1989, the Dutch Charity Lotteries have provided multiyear unrestricted funding, a type of grantmaking that is fairly unique for the Netherlands, to a wide range of nonprofits at home and abroad. This article shares insights into how unrestricted grantmaking influences the relationship between funders and grantees, specifically highlighting how staff at a sample of grantee organizations experience collaboration with this large social enterprise. It discusses hidden and invisible power dynamics that exist in the relationship, even when there are few formal restrictions on grantees’ spending.

Grantee representatives interviewed for this study stated that openness and honesty in communication with …

Youth And The Juvenile Court System: A Community Foundation’S Commitment To Integrating Voice And Community Expertise, Michael A. Yonas, Jennifer C. Sloan, Anna Hollis, Tiffany Sizemore, Kathi Elliott, Michelle Mcmurray, Jeanne Pearlman

The Foundation Review

The staggeringly disproportionate numbers of youth of color in the juvenile court system in Allegheny County, Pennsylvania, compelled the Pittsburgh Foundation to launch the Youth Voices Juvenile Justice Pilot project. The initiative sought to learn from youth who have firsthand knowledge of the juvenile court system and from those at risk of such an experience in order to inform the foundation’s efforts to improve outcomes for youth.

This article outlines the foundation’s process for engaging youth and stakeholders in a meaningful way to improve its grantmaking and to better support systems change that leads to reducing youth court involvement through …

Editorial, Teresa R. Behrens

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Shifting Power In Maine: Findings From A Six-Year Community-Based Health Initiative, Susan Foster, Teresa Doksum, Charles Dwyer

The Foundation Review

Between 2013 and 2019, a Maine Health Access Foundation community-based initiative provided place-based funding to communities to address system gaps and inefficiencies that impede the ability of Maine’s most vulnerable individuals to obtain essential services and supports. To rebalance power between the funder and grantees, the foundation introduced grantmaking practices such as long-term, flexible funding and new ways of relating to and supporting grantees. The theory of change guiding the initiative was that systems change is more effective and sustainable when communities develop cross-sector partnerships and engage community members in planning. The foundation guided the evaluation team to conduct a …

Book Review: Delusional Altruism: Why Philanthropists Fail To Achieve Change And What They Can Do To Transform Giving, Steve Wilson

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

The Revolution Within: What It Really Takes To Partner With Communities, Courtney Ricci, Nancy Csuti, Mia Ramirez

The Foundation Review

In October 2016, The Foundation Review published an article describing a new vision for grantmaking at The Colorado Trust that shifted power from the foundation to community residents to determine locally relevant issues and solutions for advancing health equity. It discussed major shifts underway at The Trust as it developed its Community Partnerships for Health Equity strategy, which it believed would result in measurable change that was authentically planned, implemented, and led by residents of Colorado communities.

This article describes the initial years of the strategy, which began with a phased approach to sharing power with communities, and how the …

Back Matter

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

13.1 Full Issue

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Exploring Needs For Diversity, Equity, And Inclusion Practices In Arts And Culture Nonprofits In Denver, Colorado, Christina Mcclelland

The Foundation Review

To foster a more welcoming, inclusive, and effective arts and culture community in the metropolitan Denver area, the Bonfils- Stanton Foundation seeks to promote promising practices in diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) among nonprofit arts organizations. The foundation partnered with a researcher to explore how local organizations are implementing such practices and to learn how it could best support these efforts.

This article summarizes the findings of a qualitative survey of leaders from 10 Denver arts and culture nonprofits and discusses them within the context of a review of literature on diversity efforts among other arts organizations in North America. …

The Development And Operation Of Foundations In China, Qun Wang

The Foundation Review

Chinese foundations flourished in the 21st century, and empirical studies emerged to address multiple aspects of their activities and relations with the government. Yet there has been little research synthetically reviewing their development and operation. As a result, we often lack the knowledge of the context in which these organizations interact with state and society.

This article divides the history of Chinese foundations into three phases: in search of identity, 1978–2004; in search of legal status, 2004–2016; and in search of the role in civil society, from 2016 onward. Within those three periods, it also examines overseas foundations and their …

Investing In Leadership Development: A Tool For Systems Change In The Community Health Center Field, Michael P. Arnold, Natalie J. Blackmur, Brenda Solórzano, Carolyn Wang Kong, Bobbie Wunsch, Sunita Mutha

The Foundation Review

Over the course of 12 years, the Blue Shield of California Foundation committed nearly $20 million to growing a pool of community health center leaders who were prepared to be effective agents of change in their organizations and in the safety net field. This signature investment, the Clinic Leadership Institute, was implemented in partnership with the Healthforce Center at University of California, San Francisco, in anticipation of a generation of California health center leaders beginning to transition into retirement.

During the institute's 10 cohorts, access to community health centers dramatically increased with the Affordable Care Act, and this — coupled …

Front Matter

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Placing Bets In A Complex Environment: One Foundation’S Approach To The Opioid Epidemic, Jill Yegian

The Foundation Review

Across the globe, foundations grapple with how to tackle complex, cross-sector societal problems. A major effort by the California Health Care Foundation to reduce opioid-related morbidity and mortality, launched just as opioid use was becoming understood as a problem that could reach epidemic proportions, presents an instructive case study of impact.

Starting in 2015, the foundation placed several “big bets” on initiatives aimed at stopping overdose deaths and preventing new addiction. That early investment had dramatic returns, laying the groundwork for scaling pilot projects statewide as hundreds of millions of dollars in government funding became available to address the crisis. …

Funder-Initiated Communities Of Practice As A Means For Sharing And Creating Knowledge In Order To Strengthen The Adaptive Capacity Of Systems, Claire Nicklin, Timothy Chancellor, Angelo Garcia, Linnet Gohole, Bettina Haussmann, Prudence Kaijage, Jane Maland Cady, Keith Miller, Marah Moore, Rebecca Nelson, Megan Powers, Batamaka Somé

The Foundation Review

Planned communities of practice can be an effective means to spread and create knowledge. This article explores the degree to which communities of practice can be initiated by funders, and presents the lessons learned and outcomes achieved from the long-term commitment to this concept by the McKnight Foundation's Collaborative Crop Research Program.

This article provides a novel contribution to the literature by showing that a funder can initiate, support, and participate in a community of practice comprised of its grantees, which can succeed in sharing and creating knowledge. Factors that organizations should consider when investigating this concept include long-term investment …

A Mission To Improve Health: Lessons From Missouri’S Expanding Coverage Initiative, Anna Saltzman, Shayla Spilker, Megan Klenke-Isgriggs

The Foundation Review

To support the implementation of the Affordable Care Act, in 2013 Missouri Foundation for Health launched the Expanding Coverage Initiative. The fiveyear effort sought to reduce Missouri’s uninsured rate from 13% to less than 5% by developing a broad-based state coalition and employing a three-pronged approach of awareness building and outreach, enrollment assistance, and increasing health literacy.

While the initiative did not achieve its rate-reduction goal, the rate of uninsured Missourians dropped to 9% during the ECI’s time frame, a decrease on par with the national average despite the fact that at the time Missouri was one of 17 states …

Executive Summaries

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Editorial, Teresa R. Behrens

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.