I attended Grassroots Grantmakers' "On the Ground" event in Cleveland this past week. The Cleveland Foundation's Neighborhood Connections program served as a terrific case study for engaging everyday people in community improvement. Its approach draws heavily from the community engagement and network leadership practices developed by Bill Traynor and Frankie Blackburn of Trusted Space Partners. [...]
Asides
Grassroots vs. Organization Culture in Giving
Working in philanthropy often means simultaneously holding competing values as true, or at least viable. And, there are many classic tensions of values in philanthropy to navigate. Strategic philanthropy, relationship-driven philanthropy, and impulsive giving can all useful tactics. Donors can be both builders and buyers in their support of nonprofits’ growth. The freedom of nonprofits [...]
Philanthropic Disruption News
Foundation Center President Brad Smith had a great post last week, The Brave New World of Good. In it, he poses thoughtful questions about newer models of achieving social good that are complementing, some believe disrupting or even replacing, traditional philanthropies and nonprofits. These include open data, private markets, hackathons, innovation practices, impact investing, and transparency practices. [...]
Raising the Philanthropy Question
Kudos to Jim Coutre from The Philanthropic Initiative for his recent article on the importance of financial advisers discussing charitable giving with their clients. He cites studies showing that wealthy clients expect the conversation (or will go elsewhere for it) and that the conversation will increase long-term client retention. Community foundations and other nonprofits that work with [...]
Tony Macklin 