Before Sunset

Posted on July 13, 2022 by Arabella Advisors

With support from and in partnership with the Kataly Foundation, Arabella Advisors conducted one-on-one interviews with many current and former spend-down leaders and gained valuable insights about the practices their foundations employed… Read More

Sixteen Grantmaking Characteristics to Effectively Support Public Policy Advocacy

Posted on July 6, 2022 by Sara Watson, Alliance for Justice

illustrated image of US Capitol building in red on a blue background; Bolder Advocacy report cover
Created by Bolder Advocacy in partnership with Dr. Sara Watson, this resource outlines the sixteen characteristics of grantmaking that best supports effective policy education and advocacy.  Grantmaking that effectively supports the difficult task of informing and advancing policy change has specific characteristics. Learn about the 1) technical funding structures, 2) the content of what gets funded, and 3) considerations across… Read More

Mapping Change: Using a Theory of Change to Guide Planning and Evaluation

Posted on October 26, 2021 by GrantCraft

This brief guide explains why grantmakers use theories of change to guide their questioning, unearth assumptions that underlie their work, establish common language, and develop strong action plans. Contributors to the guide also describe how a theory of change sets the stage for evaluation by clarifying goals, strategies, and milestones… Read More

Moving Toward Equitable Funding Practices Findings from Research on Community Foundation Practices

Posted on October 6, 2021 by Lori Bartczak

Community foundations can play a powerful role in connecting high-net-worth donors with local organizations working to advance community needs—especially organizations led by people of color. Connecting donors to organizations that are providing leadership and meeting critical needs in the community is one way community foundations can help donors ensure their giving is having local impact and can help strengthen the… Read More

Reimagining Capacity Building: Navigating Culture, Systems & Power

Posted on October 3, 2021 by Grantmakers for Effective Organizations

Strengthening nonprofit organizations is not just a nice-to-have but an essential part of our work as grantmakers to ensure that nonprofits have the resources they need to address today’s most pressing social concerns. Indeed, the vast majority of staffed foundations — 86 percent — do just that, invest in organizational strengthening in areas such as leadership, fundraising, evaluation, communications and… Read More