OPEN KNOWLEDGE
New Evaluation Collection Allows Social Sector to Easily Share Results
July 07, 2017
We believe that the ability to learn shouldn’t be limited by who you know. Every day foundations and nonprofits learn hard-earned lessons about what’s worked, what hasn’t, and why. But not enough of them share those lessons consistently and openly. Now there is a simple way for foundations, nonprofits, and the evaluators they work with to …
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How to Increase Visibility for Your Nonprofit Report
April 28, 2017
So, you know how attending a conference can let you unhook from your to-do list and take in another way of to-do-ing? You let yourself dream a little, let possibilities come into view. I love that moment of potentiality, though it tends to get chased out pretty quickly by that “uh – we aren’t doing …
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Social Change & The Critical Importance of Open Archiving
March 30, 2017
Publisher’s Note: This article originally appeared on HistPhil as part of a forum focused on archives and knowledge management in philanthropy. We’re republishing the article now because of World Backup Day on March 31st, which is an annual reminder to backup important online documents and memories. IssueLab stores critical thought and research outcomes from social sector organizations, …
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Why We Make Free, Public Information More Accessible and How You Can Help
February 16, 2017
One of the key roles the nonprofit sector plays in civil society is providing evidence about social problems and their solutions. Given recent changes to policies regarding the sharing of knowledge and evidence by federal agencies, that function is more critical than ever. Nonprofits deliver more than direct services such as running food banks or …
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Special Collection: Multi-party Advocacy
February 15, 2017
For many foundations, collaboration is key to advocating for policy and practice change. But these kinds of partnerships can be challenging to execute well. “Sticking points”, like conflicts over decision-making power or competition for resources, can derail advocacy-focused efforts and make even the most earnest collaborator wary. Given the current conversation around philanthropy’s role in funding …
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Special Collection: Disconnected Youth
December 07, 2016
IssueLab’s new collection on the topic of disconnected youth brings together 139 reports, case studies, program evaluations, factsheets, and toolkits from nonprofits and foundations across the U.S. This diverse collection of “grey literature” from organizations both large and small, dates back 16 years and describes a broad range of approaches to meeting the needs of …
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Special Collection: Risk and Philanthropy
October 31, 2016
Almost every philanthropic decision involves some consideration of risk, whether it’s financial, programmatic, or reputational. But how do foundation staff talk about, let alone manage, those risks? That’s exactly the question that Open Road Alliance asked us. And in response we gathered dozens of articles, blog posts, reports, case studies, and the all too rare toolkit, from across …
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Special Collection: Race and Policing
July 18, 2016
Again and again the data show that people of color in the U.S. are being disproportionately, and systematically, stopped, frisked, arrested, and exposed to the use of force by police. Across the country, police departments and communities are struggling with these realities and with what has become a glaring divide in how Americans experience and …
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IssueLab Joins the SF Homeless Project
June 28, 2016
This week, Twitter’s Medium service is hosting the “SF Homeless Project” event which focuses (but doesn’t limit) attention on homelessness in the San Francisco/Bay Area. IssueLab is excited to be a part of this collaborative action! “Even if you aren’t in San Francisco or California, your voice matters. Homelessness is a problem that affects too …
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Looking for Answers About Funding Intermediaries
June 23, 2016
IssueLab recently partnered with the Grants Managers Network (GMN) to explore a question that not only affects grants managers but also those individuals and organizations who often serve as the connective tissue between funder and grantee, funding intermediaries. What GMN wanted to know is this … when grantmakers use intermediary organizations, or “regranters”, they generally do so …
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