It was a win-win solution, hiding in plain sight. Community colleges could serve more parents with young children, if parents had easier access to affordable childcare. Head Start Centers, for their part, want to serve more families. Idea: If more community colleges could host Head Start Centers right on their campuses, eligible parents would have immediate access to free child care, colleges could better tap into a population of potential students, and Head Start centers could get free space...

It was a win-win solution, hiding in plain sight. Community colleges could serve more parents with young children if parents had easier access to affordable childcare. Head Start Centers, for their part, want to serve more families. Idea: If more community colleges could host Head Start Centers right on their campuses, eligible parents would have immediate access to free child care, colleges could better tap into a population of potential students, and Head Start centers could get free space...

Any person at a leanly staffed foundation, no matter their role, can embrace Catalytic Leadership in Philanthropy (CLIP). In this special podcast episode, Exponent Philanthropy CEO Paul D. Daugherty and senior advisor, producer, and host of the Catalytic Philanthropy Podcast, Andy Carroll discuss this critical mindset and practice, how it fills a gap in the space, and how anyone can begin to adopt CLIP. *** Andy Carroll is a senior advisor at Exponent Philanthropy and the producer and host of...

In Part 3 of our Podcast exploring the catalyst role of the Earl & Kathryn Congdon Foundation in the economic revitalization of High Point, North Carolina, foundation staff Megan Oglesby and Joe Blosser chronicle the creation of a prototyping and training facility called the Generator. Furniture design and craftmanship has had a long history in High Point. Though manufacturing shifted to other countries, many professional designers and skilled craftspeople continue to reside in the area....

In Part 2 of our Podcast exploring the catalyst role of the Earl & Kathryn Congdon Foundation in the economic revitalization of High Point, North Carolina, foundation staff Megan Oglesby and Joe Blosser describe a key part of the project, a coworking space called the Commons. Megan and Joe share how the Commons was designed to promote networking and idea generation, why the foundation and its partners decided to make access free, and the programming offered by the Chamber of Commerce to...

Small, place-based foundations operate in almost every rural region, town, and city in the U.S. Many of these communities have experienced a dramatic loss of jobs in the past decades. As local foundations make grants to meet immediate needs, their leaders consider whether the foundations might also play a part in rejuvenating local economies and lifting opportunity and hope for the residents of their towns and regions. In this podcast, meet the staff of a foundation of two committed to doing...

When the Kuni Foundation asked its nonprofit partners in Washington State and Oregon what they most needed, the answer was "data." Their partners knew that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in the two states were undercounted, and therefore public funding and services were inadequate. The foundation complied, and the results of the data study not only confirmed the gap but revealed, in a stunning way, a deep gulf between needs and services provided - including in...

When the Kuni Foundation asked its nonprofit partners in Washington State and Oregon what they most needed, the answer was "data." Their partners knew that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in the two states were undercounted, and therefore public funding and services were inadequate. The foundation complied, and the results of the data study not only confirmed the gap but revealed, in a stunning way, a deep gulf between needs and services provided - including in...

The David and Lura Lovell Foundation supports its nonprofit grantees to engage in a wide range of issue advocacy activities. Through this support, the foundation acts on its mission to help its partners achieve wins that not only alleviate issues but may actually solve persistent or urgent social problems. Among the successes of its grantee partners is the passing of two bipartisan federal bills that protect survivors of sexual misconduct from being silenced. In this Podcast, foundation...

When the board of a foundation dedicated to innovation in healthcare delivery asked, "What could we achieve with advocacy?", the question changed the entire trajectory of its philanthropy. Executive Director Jennie Riley of the Rx Foundation began learning about advocacy, organizing, and civic engagement from other funders and communities. In this Podcast, Jennie shares how the foundation journeyed to pursue its current goal - to build and nurture long-term community power to advance health...

When the board of a foundation dedicated to innovation in healthcare delivery asked, "What could we achieve with advocacy?", the question changed the entire trajectory of its philanthropy. Executive Director Jennie Riley of the Rx Foundation began learning about advocacy, organizing, and civic engagement from other funders and communities. In this Podcast, Jennie shares how the foundation journeyed to pursue its current goal - to build and nurture long-term community power to advance health...

Listening to community members and people with field experience is an essential practice of funders who make outsized impact. Listening to the community revealed to the Tzedek Social Justice Fund in Asheville, North Carolina the need to offer respite and recognition to individuals who have devoted years of paid and unpaid labor to supporting fellow residents. Many of these individuals have worked to tear down systemic racism, gender inequality, and religious prejudice. The foundation decided...

Dan Ely, Vice President and former Board Chair of the 1772 Foundation, shares the actions board and staff took as soon as they uncovered the connection between the foundation and profits made from the labor of African peoples enslaved in the late 18th century by the forebears of the benefactor, Stewart B. Kean. One operating principle of catalytic funders like the 1772 Foundation, is taking responsibility for an issue and acting creatively and decisively. By taking a series of steps...

In Part 2, Joey Borgogna of the Speranza Foundation shares the techniques he uses to build a peer learning community for the foundation's artist fellows, and personalize learning and technical assistance to individual artists' needs. The leadership program encompasses one-on-one coaching, peer interviews to learn about the artists' work and life, individualized training and technical assistance, group workshops, in-person visits to experience artists' work, and celebrations. Joey urges...

The pandemic underscored challenges faced by artists and performers, and at the same time, the indispensable role they play in sustaining our culture and connecting us. As Joey Borgogna, director of the Speranza Foundation, puts it, "We get the gift of artists being in the world." The foundation shifted from supporting arts creation, to the more hands-on work of building community among its artist fellows, to nurture renewal, growth, and leadership in ways personalized to the artists'...

When working to advance its mission, the Pascale Sykes Foundation in New Jersey has never backed away from challenge and the need to venture into new kinds of work. The foundation focuses on nurturing opportunity and success for working families. Recognizing that lack of jobs and transportation in rural South Jersey undermined hope for families, the foundation built relationships with organizations in other parts of New Jersey to target resources to this underserved region. Richelle...

Colleen O'Keefe, Executive Director of the Sauer Family Foundation in St. Paul, Minnesota, points out that all grantmaking is done in the context of large systems encompassing nonprofits as well as government agencies. Colleen realized she needed to talk with people who work in different parts of the child welfare system to understand the system as a whole and where the foundation could add real value. In this two-part Podcast, Colleen shares how listening without preconceptions, inviting...

Colleen O'Keefe, Executive Director of the Sauer Family Foundation in St. Paul, Minnesota, points out that all grantmaking is done in the context of large systems encompassing nonprofits as well as government agencies. Colleen realized she needed to talk with people who work in different parts of the child welfare system to understand the system as a whole and where the foundation could add real value. In this two-part Podcast, Colleen shares how listening without preconceptions, inviting...

Families that welcome the engagement and ideas of their next generations open up the potential for innovation and new opportunity. Kimberly Quintero, Program Associate at the Pincus Family Foundation, explains how foundation staff facilitate involvement by the 3rd generation, their collaboration with the board, and partnership with grantees.  Hear how the next generation of foundation leaders honors the founders' values while linking the mission to address current and emerging issues. This...

What impact can result when a funder collaborative engages deeper and deeper with nonprofits, and keeps challenging how it does philanthropy? The journey of a collaborative catalyzed by the McCune Foundation, a small foundation in New Mexico, led to the design of a platform enabling a wide variety of private and public funders to build capacity and leadership in Native American communities, in ways prioritized by tribal leaders and community members. Henry Rael of the McCune Foundation shares...

What impact can result when a funder collaborative engages deeper and deeper with nonprofits, and keeps challenging how it does philanthropy? The journey of a collaborative catalyzed by the McCune Foundation, a small foundation in New Mexico, led to the design of a platform enabling a wide variety of private and public funders to build capacity and leadership in Native American communities, in ways prioritized by tribal leaders and community members. Henry Rael of the McCune Foundation shares...

Creative, high-impact philanthropy is practiced by donors of all types - foundations, donor advised funds, social venture funders, and collective giving organizations. We visit with Sandy Cook, a leader at Impact100 Metro Denver, one of several hundred womens collective giving organizations around the country. Find out why Impact 100 Metro Denver invites nonprofits to step back and consider what they need to make significant shifts in how they work. Sandy shares examples how investing in...

Creative, high-impact philanthropy is practiced by donors of all types - foundations, donor advised funds, social venture funders, and collective giving organizations. We visit with Sandy Cook, a leader at Impact100 Metro Denver, one of several hundred womens collective giving organizations around the country. Find out why Impact 100 Metro Denver invites nonprofits to step back and consider what they need to make significant shifts in how they work. Sandy shares examples how investing in...

Galvanized by a statewide landscape scan revealing deep concern for the future of Maine's young people, the board of the Emanuel and Pauline A. Lerner Foundation shifted from a portfolio of annual grants, to a laser-focused, multi-year commitment to a cohort of groups to raise youth aspirations. The Lerner board and staff also focused their own time in building relationships with grantee partners. Executive Director Don Carpenter shares how this big bet inspired the Lerner Foundation board to...