Grantmaker Services
I’ve created and managed a wide variety of grantmaking initiatives, but I know that money isn’t the only or even the primary answer to improving communities and people’s lives. It takes patience and constant attention to growing relationships, communicating compelling ideas, and delivering measurable progress. By leveraging these non-financial assets, my goal is to help you create results beyond the resources you can dedicate.
Strategic Initiatives and Collaboratives
- Assessing the viability of new initiatives and the progress of existing initiatives
- Developing vision, values, work plans, and milestones for implementation and transition
- Engaging stakeholders, from grassroots to power brokers, and moving relationships to action
- Framing the work for different audiences
Grants and Scholarship Processes
- Defining goals and measurement tools
- Creating proposal, award, and scholarship processes and materials
- Evaluating organizations before and after grants
- Facilitating grantmaking committees
Current Clients
Annie E. Casey Foundation – helping the foundation connect its knowledge and experience to donors and advisors who care about transforming the lives of low-income children and families
Central Indiana Community Foundation – tracking and project managing opportunities within the economic stimulus package for CICF’s initiatives and partner organizations; conducted a stakeholder analysis of its community initiatives; incorporated a supporting organization and two nonprofits that spun off from its initiatives.
Lumina Foundation for Education — coaching community foundations and state agencies working with Lumina on initiatives to raise the college-going rates of low-income, first-generation, and minority students; created a fundraising case statement for the initiatives
Examples of previous work
National foundation – Acted as trusted counsel to the Annie E. Casey Foundation as it launched and expanded a 10-year initiative in Indianapolis. Engaged local leaders and donors and piloted resident engagement, family economic success, and community collaborative strategies. One result was an ongoing process for organizing neighborhood residents and providing small grants for their ideas. See a video clip here and an early report here.
Indiana Grantmakers Alliance – wrote a white paper and delivered a webinar for its members on how funders could better help local nonprofits and communities manage opportunities through the economic stimulus package.
Social enterprise startup – Led the community-wide business planning process, attracted an initial $1 million of investment, and helped recruit and train staff and board members from the technology and professional services sectors for NPower Indiana, a successful technology services nonprofit. Indiana nonprofits saved more than $3.7 million in software, hardware and training.
Community foundation – Researched and framed new initiatives for board and public discussion, developed work plans, and launched the initiatives and related grant and donor engagement programs. Developed application processes and materials for strategic granting and scholarship programs, later revising them to meet new regulatory issues. See example news clips here and here.
State agency – Used best practice research and stakeholder interviews to redevelop grant programs that strengthened community planning processes and community-economic development organizations. Achieved desired results of reaching new communities, engaging new people in community plans, and creating higher visibility for the agency and elected officials.
Family strengthening coalition – Created and managed an awards process that encouraged citizens to nominate organizations and small businesses that strengthened families. Resulted in increased name recognition and participation in the coalition, as well as increased visibility and donations to award winners. See example clips here.
“Tony is a hard-working, well-respected colleague. He adds invaluable assets to a team and is very knowledgeable about many aspects of the nonprofit community. Tony is the kind of guy that you want to work with: efficient, high-quality producer, good communicator and team-player.” – Melynne Klaus, Director, Christel DeHaan Family Foundation
