Sooner Rather Than Later, Prologue: 1957-2008

Posted on January 7, 2021 by S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation

In 2009, following five decades of Foundation growth and impact, the Board of Directors for this family philanthropy chose to spend down all assets. In the words of its founder, this decision reflected a commitment to finding lasting solutions to California’s critical challenges “sooner rather than later.” The spend-down horizon was initially set for eight years and then adjusted to… Read More

Open For Good: Knowledge Sharing to Strengthen Grantmaking

Posted on December 15, 2020 by GrantCraft

Knowledge has the power to spark change, but only if it is shared. In this GrantCraft guide, grantmakers share how and why their foundations openly share knowledge as an integral and strategic aspect of philanthropy. Learn from their firsthand experience how to grow organizational capacity and culture for knowledge sharing, address common concerns, and use knowledge exchange to advance your… Read More

Resilience in 2020

Posted on December 10, 2020 by S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation

New field research examines how nonprofits have experienced the crises of 2020 – and what this tells us about organizational resilience. Findings are based on interviews with 22 leaders at 19 nonprofits and intermediaries in September and October… Read More

What If? The Art of Scenario Thinking

Posted on December 3, 2020

Scenario thinking is a powerful tool for organizations of any size and scope. It can be used to address the complex challenges of large global organizations, as well as those of smaller community-based groups. This guide by the Global Business Network is primarily for leaders of nonprofits and foundations. They are responsible for long-term strategy development; they are well positioned… Read More

Racial Justice Sourcing Report

Posted on November 30, 2020 by CapShift

CapShift and TheCaseMade partnered in developing a framework to help investors understand how to invest in a more equitable future. You can read more about this in our report, Getting Started: Investing in an Equitable Future. This sourcing report highlights investments and recoverable grants that fall into three categories… Read More

Disability Inclusion in Philanthropy

Posted on November 19, 2020 by National Network of Consultants to Grantmakers

The National Network of Consultants to Grantmakers (NNCG) working paper is a starting place of learning for the Disability Inclusion Working Group and its colleagues of the National Network of Consultants to Grantmakers. Through the paper, we provide a scan of how the philanthropic sector has addressed disability inclusion and feature the work of FISA Foundation, the WITH Foundation, and… Read More

Trends 2020: Foundation Giving

Posted on November 19, 2020

This excerpt from NCFP’s Trends 2020 study shares data and analysis regarding various US family foundation giving trends, including payout rate, influences of giving decisions, discretionary grants, and much more. Family foundations must make choices around the size, number, and focus of their grants. They also have choices around how much they payout annually, the types of grants they make, and how… Read More

Trends 2020: Board Learning & Decision Making

Posted on November 19, 2020

This excerpt from NCFP’s Trends 2020 study shares data and analysis regarding various US family foundation giving trends, including board activity, foundations as learning institutions, development of new ideas, and much more. Family foundation board members must allocate time and identify ways to track and acquire the information they need to serve as effective fiduciaries for the organization. This section explores the… Read More