Article

The Experiences of a Foundation With a Limited Life: Benefits and Challenges (MAVA Foundation)

Posted on October 9, 2020 by Lynda Mansson

Drawing on reflections from the director general of the MAVA Foundation and learnings from foundations that have recently closed, this article also discusses how to prepare for the end date of a limited-life foundation. MAVA, a Swiss-based grantmaking foundation for 25 years, has a planned end date of 2022. The article features key lessons for foundations considering closure, and will… Read More

Listening to Those Who Matter Most, the Beneficiaries

Posted on August 25, 2020 by Valerie Threlfall, Fay Twersky, Phil Buchanan

To become more effective, nonprofits and foundations are turning to various sources for advice. Some look to experts who can share knowledge, research, and experience about what works—and what does not. Others turn to crowdsourcing to generate ideas and even guide decisions about future directions or funding. Experts and crowds can produce valuable insights. But too often nonprofits and funders… Read More

Building Impact: Tools for Making Good Capital Grants

Posted on November 18, 2019 by S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation

Capital projects are frequently transformational, changing the arc of the nonprofit organizations that choose to build. Unlike program grants that aim to advance change in complex systems, the process for a capital grant is seemingly transactional: a grant is made, and a structure is built or renovated. As many nonprofits and funders have found, however, the trajectory of a capital project is rarely clear cut… Read More

Transparency Talk: Archives

Posted on November 15, 2019

Included here are perspectives from: Sally Crowley, communications director for The John R. Oishei Foundation Alan S. Divack, Senior Project Manager for Archives and Knowledge Management at the Ford Foundation International Fellowships Program John E. Craig, Jr., is Executive Vice President & COO of The Commonwealth Fund Emily Keller, Editorial Associate in the Corporate Philanthropy department at the Foundation Center… Read More

The Practices of Effective Families

Posted on September 11, 2019 by Charles W. Collier

Long-time and legendary Harvard fundraiser - and founding NCFP Board member - Charles Collier suggests six essential questions about family wealth and seven practices of successful families in this brief synopsis of his classic book, Wealth in Families. … Read More

Allow Good Curriculum

Posted on August 20, 2019 by Allow Good

Allow Good is a Chicagoland nonprofit that has been running youth programming for five years. Their mission is empower all youth through the tools of philanthropy to take meaningful action in their world. Their semester-long program takes high school youth through lessons in civic engagement, community histories, and the philanthropic grantmaking process. Students explore and research local community challenges, narrowing… Read More

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