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2020-01-17
GivingTuesday;
Giving Tuesday's 2019 Impact Report shares the results of GivingTuesday 2019; but also offers a glimpse into the implications of the generosity that occurred on the day, challenging us to imagine a world where radical generosity is unleashed every single day.
2020-01-22
Open Society Foundations;
This is a special edition of Amplifying Voices that includes highlights of the Open Society Initiative for East Africa's work from 2005 to 2015. Amplifying Voices documents different journeys the foundation has traveled with its partners since its launch in 2005 and the collective efforts to realize human rights and freedoms for all.Amplifying Voices pays particular attention to those on the margins of society, including stories of working on the forced sterilization of HIV-positive women or those with mental health illnesses, promoting the rights of sex workers, or addressing the question of human rights and counterterrorism.The Open Society Initiative for East Africa started as a one-program initiative in 2005 in Kenya and today has grown to include eight programs in the region. Geographically, the foundation now works in Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, South Sudan, and Sudan. It addresses issues including health and rights, disability rights, and food security.
2020-02-29
Guidestar by Candid;
Performance measurement is an important dilemma facing the philanthropic sector. Charities with similar missions may operate in parallel but lack shared, validated yardsticks with which to assess their social impact and efficiency. Other sectors facing similar needs have made notable strides in performance measurement. Healthcare, in particular, offers a useful analogy. Considerable recent progress in healthcare performance measurement invites emulation. This paper examines these developments and how the nonprofit sector can adapt them to benchmark performance.
2020-03-06
Guidestar by Candid;
Is philanthropy less than the sum of its parts? We know of countless examples of individual organizational excellence: nonprofits and foundations that achieve extraordinary impact on the great challenges of our time. But it is hard to avoid the haunting sense that all this good work does not add up. The efforts of individual organizations are fragmented and isolated. This fragmentation yields real challenges: inefficient fundraising, infrequent collaboration, and uneven learning. All told, it is difficult to articulate the impact of the whole of philanthropy. Over the last few decades a new science has emerged that wrestles with the questions of systems-level behavior. The philanthropic community can learn much from this work. This paper is an initial effort to connect the insights from complex systems science with nonprofits, foundations, and all those devoted to making a better world.
2020-03-06
Guidestar by Candid;
The nonprofit sector accounts for more than $1 trillion in economic activity, employs 11 million people, and receives $300 billion in charitable gifts annually. There seems, however, to be no clear way to gauge how well these resources are being used. When it comes to information on how nonprofits perform, there is insufficient transparency, access, quality, and utility. It doesn't have to be this way. If we can collect the right data and create the right analytics, we could pinpoint the highest performers. That will consequently lead to better decision making and more efficient allocation of resources, which ultimately will provide greater value to those in need. This paper explores how the world of philanthropy can learn valuable lessons from an unlikely sector: the financial services industry.
2020-02-29
Guidestar by Candid;
Donors, journalists, and members of Congress frequently express outrage at the salaries nonprofit CEOs receive, especially if they head nonprofits that receive donations from the public. Excessive compensation can also draw fire from the IRS. This paper outlines what the IRS permits in setting nonprofit executive compensation, the consequences of failing to comply with the regulations, how nonprofit board members can protect themselves and the organizations they serve, the kind of data compensation decisions should be based on, and the importance of reporting compensation accurately in annual IRS filings.
2020-12-22
American Institutes for Research;
Starting in 2019, the American Institutes for Research (AIR) partnered with the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, to capture grantees' experiences with the National Character Initiative. Specifically, through interviews and surveys, AIR aimed to describe grantees' experiences implementing the grants and participating in the supports that were provided by the Foundation and expert consultants. Findings from the retrospective may be useful to other foundations as they decide how to fund and support youth-serving organizations.
2020-04-01
S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation;
The S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation, a spend-down foundation sunsetting in 2020, invested in four major education initiatives during its final decade of grantmaking. A firm believer in the importance of building and sharing knowledge, the Foundation also made significant, complementary investments in evaluation that were intended to help grantee partners improve their work and to capture lessons learned that funders, nonprofits, policymakers, and other education actors might benefit from. This essay offers a high-level comparison of the evaluation approach taken in each initiative and shares reflections on why we took the paths we did.
2020-04-01
Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand Valley State University;
This report presents an updated review of progress toward economic inclusion in the Grand Rapids, Michigan area. It summarizes the changes between data reported by Dr. Mark White of the Center for Regional Analysisat George Mason University and the Center for Regional Economic Competitiveness in Addressing EconomicInclusion in Grand Rapids (2016) and the most recently available data obtained from public sources — primarily comparing data from 2014 to 2018. Data are displayed in various geographic groupings and disaggregated by demographic characteristics for comparison. This report, sponsored by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF), is intended to aid ongoing strategy development for promoting inclusive growth in the Grand Rapids area.
2020-10-30
S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation;
Realizing the full value of consulting services requires a careful approach to selecting, contracting, and partnering with consultants. One of the most critical steps in the process is finding a good "fit" – an individual or firm that is capable of completing the work effectively, and whose values and approach are well aligned with those of your team. There are many ways to identify potential consultants. It is not always necessary to require written applications from consultants. However, in situations where written applications would be useful, issuing an RFQ (Request for Qualifications) is a good practice that can help you narrow the field. This guide to writing an RFQ can help you get started. This tool is part of the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation's "Working with Consultants" series. The series features a guide for helping organizations take steps to find, hire, and partner with a consultant. It includes Foundation-generated essays on working with consultants who specialize in strategic planning, communications, evaluation, and fundraising, as well as a resource developed by Equity in the Center on partnering with equity consultants.
2020-10-30
S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation;
Consultants support the effectiveness of nonprofit agencies and grantmakers in many ways. For example, you might turn to a consultant to bring expertise on a specialized topic, to help you understand and address a major challenge, or to facilitate alignment within a group. But no single consultant can do everything, client organizations often have a lot at stake when they engage an outside service provider, and the inherent power dynamic between consultant and client needs to be managed well to develop a productive partnership. How do you find and collaborate with a consultant effectively to reach your goals? This tool features nine steps that can help your organization build strong relationships with consultants, adding value through a sound investment of your time and money. It is accompanied by links to other resources that can inform your work with consultants.
2020-10-30
S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation;
Nonprofits and grantmakers engage consultants for a variety of needs. Here are responses to commonly asked questions that can help you, and your consultant, get the most from each interaction. This tool is part of the S. D. Bechtel, Jr. Foundation's "Working with Consultants" series. The series features a guide for helping organizations take steps to find, hire, and partner with a consultant. It includes Foundation-generated essays on working with consultants who specialize in strategic planning, communications, evaluation, and fundraising, as well as a resource developed by Equity in the Center on partnering with equity consultants.
