Resources

My name is Brad Cameron, and I’m a program associate at the Winthrop Rockefeller Foundation in Little Rock, Ark. Along with a number of my colleagues, I’m proud to be a part of GEO’s inaugural Change Incubator cohort. I wanted to take a moment to share a little bit about what we’re learning through the program — and the change we’re making.

Are you aware of any grantmaking programs that support existing organizations that have to make significant shifts to their strategies because of what they have learned from their constituents or because of changing dynamics in their particular field of work?

I am interested in learning how other funding organizations determine their policy agendas. How do organizations determine which 3 or 4 policies to focus on in a year? What drives your decisions?

Does your foundation have a process for developing and reviewing individual professional development plans for any or all of its staff? If so, can you share templates that are used and/or examples of the types of areas, activities, and measures that folks typically include in their plans?

The discussion starter can be used to delve into questions that are often challenging to raise and to surface issues that may be invisible.

Philanthropy evolves slowly, despite (or maybe because of) very few external constraints or imperatives. Historically, good stewardship of philanthropic resources has focused on preserving capital and growing assets for the benefit of future generations. But given the complex, evolving nature of challenges like poverty and climate change, as well as what we have learned about how best to support nonprofit success and community impact, we must shift our conception of good stewardship in order to make significant progress in solving large-scale problems.

If you have or have run a leadership program and conducted an external evaluation, do you have recommendations on potential evaluators?

In this GEOAsks interview, Adam Simon, director of leadership initiatives at the Charles and Lynn Schusterman Family Foundation discusses the myths and realities of providing leadership development.

Example reports comparing leadership development programs funded by foundations which included certification from an educational institute.

We are wondering if anyone else offers a curated set of resources or even a recommended reading list for their grantees around the various topics addressing nonprofit effectiveness?