by Chip Edelsberg "Connected people tend to have an effect on one another." Charles Kedushin in Understanding Social Networks "Increased cooperation for greater accumulation effects requires revising traditional self-centered attitudes about impact and how to get it." Theodore Lobman and Ray Bacchetti, "Increasing Foundation Impact by Building Educational Capital" in Reconnecting Education & Foundations (Ray Bacchetti and Thomas Ehrlich, Editors) … [Read more...]
Learning from My Mistakes
Posted on September 21, 2012 Written by
by Steven Green At age 24, before being eligible to legally rent a car, I became Regional Director of the southeast office of the Jewish National Fund (JNF). It was a somewhat daunting situation, which I approached with enthusiasm and this set of four assumptions about the role of foundations as an integral part of effective fundraising: Securing major foundation gifts is key to success A foundation that does not give money to my organization is either misinformed or not fulfilling its charitable purpose If a foundation fails to award a grant proposal with funding, it is not worth my time to pursue future conversations with foundation personnel Fundraising is exclusively about bringing money in the door … [Read more...]
Lessons Learned from Building a Succession Plan Together
Posted on September 6, 2012 Written by
by Rabbi Avi Weiss and Chip Edelsberg After years of conceptualizing, creating and developing anything - a business, nonprofit, or, in this case, an educational institution - leaving one’s position often brings mixed emotions. The excitement of a new endeavor is tempered with a concern: “What will happen after I leave?” Understanding this concern, our organizations, a grantee and a foundation, partnered over the previous two and a half years to build a transition plan for Yeshivat Chovevei Torah (YCT), the open Orthodox Rabbinical School in New York. … [Read more...]
Interpreting the Evidence
Posted on August 7, 2012 Written by
by Amy Braier (nee Philip) Like many foundations, we wrestle on an ongoing basis with issues of evaluation. The Holy Grail of evaluation seems to be evidence: we want evidence that the work we are funding is having a positive impact, and evidence that we as funders are making a difference and the Jewish community is no exception. However, in order to obtain this evidence, we and the organisations we fund are increasingly required to interpret, and sometimes commission, quite complex research. For funders who do not dedicate a staff post to impact and evaluation, and for those of us who do not have a background in social sciences or research methods, this can be a daunting prospect. Do we really know what we are looking for? Do we know if the methods used to gather it were appropriate? How … [Read more...]
To Intervene or Not Intervene
Posted on July 19, 2012 Written by
To intervene or not intervene, that is the question - for funders impatient to make a difference by Richard Marker Who has the better perspective: a funder or a [prospective] grantee? An organization providing a service to a given population has its mission, competencies, history, and governance. Who would know better than they about what they need, what would make a real difference, what bumps in the road are ahead, and what strategic decisions are in the offing? A funder receives proposals from many organizations, often in the same catchment area or field of service and thus has the advantage of a bird’s eye view of trends, emerging demographic shifts, innovative program delivery, perspective. Not surprisingly, these two vantage points are not always aligned. The question for … [Read more...]
Efficiency vs Efficacy: the Metrics Myth in Grantmaking
Posted on April 25, 2012 Written by
I know, I know. This is a well-worn topic. I myself have been addressing it for years and I am far from unique in that regard. It is hard to find an experienced foundation professional or philanthropist who doesn’t know the limits of pure metrics as a sufficient measure of a worthwhile grant. But the idea doesn’t go away. There are still those who assume that if they can only get the right numbers, they will be able to compare the objective worth of ngo’s and nfp’s around the world. These measures would determine which group is a more deserving recipient of funds, which group uses contributed or granted funds more efficiently, and which are being profligate with the vast sums thrown their way by unsuspecting donors. Now - let us be clear: there is nothing wrong with data, if it is … [Read more...]
