Resources

This report is a final offering to philanthropy from the Hazen Foundation and its nonprofit partners. The report includes grantee recommendations for funder partnerships that advance a more effective and sustainable movement for social justice.

Are you a foundation trustee or a staff leader working with a foundation/grantmaker board that is intentionally exploring and/or making changes to governance practices to make your board more equitable, meaningful and valuable? If you have been thinking about and experimenting with better/alternative/equitable board governance, GEO would like to hear your story. Please reach out to Meghan Duffy (duffy@geofunders.org) to share the kinds of changes you are making, regardless of how far along you are in the process and if your work has gone well or been more challenging. GEO will host an initial conversation during the National Conference (May 20-22 in Los Angeles) and will be convening additional learning and sharing within our community throughout the next few years. We’re excited to surface more concrete examples of grantmaker boards who are trying to operate differently to meet the needs of their missions and align with their values. Thank you! Meghan

Posting on behalf of an anonymous GEO member: “I'm interested in learning about and/or connecting with GRANTMAKERS (specifically; not nonprofits) who have gone down the path of a non-hierarchical or shared leadership model of management structure. I would love to hear about and learn from other foundations who are structured this way without a singular President/Executive Director or experimenting with other forms. Can you direct me to anyone who can offer advice or experience? Thank you in advance.”

Dear GEO Community, Our Foundation is currently in the implementation phase of a new strategic plan, which includes re-designing our organization to match our strategy. To assist us in this important phase of our development we are in the process of identifying potential consultants. Ideally, it would be most effective to engage a consultant/consulting firm that provides expertise in a number of areas including structure, process, and culture. Any insight, recommendations, and/or referrals you may be able to provide would be greatly appreciated. Thank you! Curtis

Hello all, Has anyone seen a form or other method of collecting demographic data from staff/constituents, that they feel is respectful and well done? We know that Candid is a good place to enter that demographic data once collected data but we've had questions from nonprofits and others about how best to collect the information from their staff and/or constituents. Any thoughts and/or resources you have would be much appreciated. Thank you! Georganna

Hello Everyone, We are looking at our Vacation/Sick Leave policies and considering transitioning to a PTO bank for leave. Is anyone willing to share their PTO policies, including any carryover or payout upon termination with us? Thank you, ___

Hello everyone, We're reaching out to see if anyone has any resources about the difference between a CEO, Executive Director and a President of a Community Foundation? Info related to any foundation type would also be helpful. If there are differences in the job descriptions for those titles or if it is simply a choice of term for the title, we'd be thankful for any info you can share. Many thanks! Georganna

Hi GEOlist, Submitting this question on behalf of a GEO member who’s asked to remain anonymous: “We are looking for feedback and/or advice from foundations with experience communicating a reduction in grantmaking to partners and grantees. We are in early stages of strategic planning and have had our budget significantly reduced for future years. Any insight or tips would be helpful -- what strategies and messaging worked or what didn't?” Looking forward to any support you can provide! Kyle

This publication from Movement Tapestries offers insights and guidance for organizations navigating equity-embedded transformations, and the challenges that can come with embarking on such journeys.

Good morning, CFU has undertaken a process to develop a community impact strategy for our endowment, issue-based funds, and initiatives. We'd appreciate recommendations for any monitoring and evaluation consultants that this group has been especially impressed with. It would be a bonus if there were any experiences with ESG metrics. Many thanks in advance!