Stakeholder Engagement: A Guide for Grantmakers

August 27, 2010

Do Nothing About Me Without Me, a guide for grantmakers on increasing stakeholder engagement, begins with a simple but inspirational African proverb about the importance of working together:

“If you want to go fast, go alone.  If you want to go far, go together.”

Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO) partnered with the Interaction Institute for Social Change (IISC) on this report because there is a disconnect between grantmakers’ sentiments around stakeholder engagement and their perceptions of how inclusive they are in decision-making. 

And this perception is not without merit: while a slim majority of the surveyed grantmakers believe that it’s very important to solicit outside advice and collaborate with external groups, only 36 percent of respondents said they seek advice from grantee advisory committees or solicit feedback from grantees through surveys, interviews, or focus groups.

Why don’t more grantmakers involve external stakeholders in decision-making?  According to the survey, many grantmakers are comfortable with the status quo, prefer to get their information from experts rather than community members, or think it takes too much time and effort to involve outside constituents.  Valid or not, these excuses prevent many grantmakers from letting more diverse voices influence their work.

Yet, the benefits of stakeholder engagement are evident; inviting external constituencies to the table results in:

  • Deeper understanding of problems;
  • Truer sense of grantee needs and challenges;
  • Improved strategy;
  • Greater effectiveness;
  • More accountability and transparency; and
  • Increased buy in.

So how do grantmakers involve stakeholders in decision-making?  Do Nothing About Me Without Me provides several case studies of organizations that do this work successfully.  The report also offers a range of activities for grantmakers, depending on their current level of stakeholder engagement. 

Minnesota also has its own examples of foundations involving communities in their organizations:

  • Getting started: If your foundation is just beginning this work, surveying grantees for feedback and input is a great first step.  Some foundations also commission Grantee Perception Reports from the Center for Effective Philanthropy.  The McKnight Foundation published its report online for greater transparency and accountability.
  • Gathering input: Other grantmakers involve grantees and community members in focus groups, listening sessions, and community convenings around public problems.  For instance, the Central Minnesota Community Foundation has convened community meetings around important local issues, such as ways to promote collaborative planning with St. Cloud, Sartell, and Sauk Rapids.
  • Sharing decision making: For grantmakers that are able and willing to share decision-making authority with a group of constituents, they may consider either adding nonprofit and community representatives to their board, or appointing a panel of nonprofit staff and community members to decide on grants. Family foundations can expand their boards to include non-family members.  The Sundance Family Foundation has benefited from assembling a small, talented board of directors made up of several people from the community. At the Women’s Foundation of Minnesota, the Social Change Fund and girlsBEST Fund each has its own committee that is charged with making funding recommendations to the board of trustees. Committee members include staff, board members, and community volunteers that participate in reading proposals, conducting site visits, and evaluating applications. The process incorporates perspectives of many different decision makers.

Join the conversation: How does your foundation involve stakeholders?  If you are with a nonprofit, how have funders engaged your organization in their work?

-Stephanie Jacobs, MCF director of member services

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McKnight Foundation Leading by Following

August 20, 2010

Philanthropy is a field of leaders, but Monitor Institute is focusing elsewhere with their Smart Money Award, a bi-monthly recognition of philanthropy’s most important acts of “followership”.

Instead of recognizing those who go where no one has gone before, the award celebrates those who follow in the footsteps of others. It honors acts like Warren’s Buffet’s 2006 gift of more than $31 billion to the Gates Foundation and Buffet’s recognition that “there was a terrific foundation that was already scaled-up…that would and that could productively use my money now. “

Most recently, the Smart Money Award went to The McKnight Foundation, an MCF member, for followership represented by its $100 million commitment to three re-granting institutions leading the effort against climate change: ClimateWorks, the Energy Foundation, and RE-AMP. Given the issue’s urgency and parters who were already doing work they trusted, McKnight’s Board decided it would be most effective to forego acting alone and instead join the ongoing efforts of others.

McKnight’s vice president of program Neal Cuthbert explains, “We have a long history of working with established intermediaries to try to put decisions in the hands of the people closest to the work. We often find that the best thing we can do is to support smart people who know what they’re doing and get out of the way.”

The award was born at a March 2010 gathering on the next 10 years of philanthropy where participants discussed how philanthropy could adapt to a rapidly changing world. There, a small group facilitated by Monitor Institute consultants Gabriel Kasper and Edward Wexler-Beron, focused on followership. Specifically, they wanted to dispel the notion that leadership is about doing something first or by yourself. For more on the story of the award’s creation, check out Eugene Eric Kim’s blog post: The Story of Philanthropy’s Smart Money Award.

Kasper, the Monitor Institute consultant and co-author of the reports “What’s Next for Philanthropy – Acting Bigger and Adapting Better in a Networked World” and “Intentional Innovation: How Getting More Systematic about Innovation Could Improve Philanthropy and Increase Social Impact”, will share insights from Monitor’s work at MCF’s 2010 Annual Convening in October. To read more about Kasper’s plenary address, visit mcfconvening.org.

- Susan Stehling, MCF

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Rural Development: Philanthropy’s Secret to Success

July 27, 2010

At Philanthropy Potluck we love featuring the outstanding work of our MCF members.  Here’s a recent West Central Blogger post written by Kim Embretson, West Central Initiative vice president of development.

How do you create success in rural communities? A small group of foundation leaders from all over the nation have been tackling this question. They have discovered that when you combine the features of economic development, community development and philanthropy you unlock the secret to success.

Often rural community leaders struggle alone trying to build the systems that will make their community successful. Eight years ago, four community foundations all working with rural economic development were brought together as part of an Aspen Institute learning community. They discovered a common thread of activities that influenced the success of rural communities. They decided to work together to help rural communities all over the nation.

West Central Initiative, The Nebraska Community Foundation, The Humboldt Area Foundation in California, The East Tennessee Foundation, The Black Belt Community Foundation, The Aspen Institute Community Strategies Group, The Center for Rural Strategies, and North Carolina Rural Economic Development Center have formed the Rural Development Philanthropy Collaboration steering committee. They have been able to compare years of experience working with successful rural communities to collect the most effective actions that lead to success.

The Rural Development Philanthropy is no longer a secret. Now the core documents are available for anyone interested in the success of their rural community at http://www.wcif.org/?page=Publications#RDP.  Learn how your rural community or region can benefit from combining economic development, community development and philanthropy.

Grant support from the Ford Foundation, California Endowment, Rockefeller Brothers Fund and the community foundations on the steering committee has helped underwrite the cost of meetings and materials to date.

Visit West Central Blogger for more regional community foundation news.

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What I Wish I Knew . . . with Dave Ellis

July 21, 2010

It is a pleasure to listen to Dave Ellis, Community Impact Manager at the Greater Twin Cities United Way, talk about how he got started in the field.  In this last video in MCF’s “What I Wish I Knew . . .” series, Dave questions whether he got started in the field or if the field started in him.  In his long career of working in corrections for the state, Dave had the reputation of being able to make lemonade out of lemons, but he most enjoyed finding funding for innovative programs.  He knew that some day, he wanted to be able to “write that check.”  As Dave’s long and winding path in the philanthropic sector demonstrates, he says that you need to trust and believe where you are headed, and then just run with it.

Dave says the greatest lesson he learned is that “a bureaucracy is a bureaucracy is a bureaucracy.”  Everything has a system and it takes time to change.  But Dave also believes there is nothing that can’t be fixed.  He encourages funders to be willing to take a chance.  Dave thinks that he wasn’t bold enough when he started out, and hopes that new people in the field are more willing to take risks.

Dave doesn’t think that people should think outside of the box.  He says, “Don’t believe in boxes”.  He feels the sector constrains itself in silos.  But, people don’t live in silos, and Dave sees now how the issues that funders are trying to solve are all interconnected.  That means that funders not only need to see the big picture, but also that new people in the field need to rely on their connections to their colleagues to be successful in this work.  Dave says to listen to “your head, your heart, and your gut.  Those things will get you through this.”  Thanks, Dave!

View the video of Dave Ellis on Vimeo.

View other videos in MCF’s “What I Wish I Knew . . .” series:

  • Ellis Bullock
  • Claire Chang
  • Jeneen Hartley Sago
  • Joan Cleary
  • Patrick Troska
  • Trista Harris
  • Becky Erdahl
  • Martha Field

    • MCF would like to thank these members again for sharing their stories and advice.  If you have an idea for another video series featuring MCF members, please contact Stephanie Jacobs at sjacobs@mcf.org.

    -Stephanie Jacobs, MCF director of member services

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    Capacity, Culture, Commitment and Comfort: Finding Public Policy Strategies That Fit Your Foundation

    July 20, 2010

    How much change can a foundation catalyze by simply – albeit generously – writing checks? Not as much as it could if it also engaged in public policy activities. In fact, public policy work should be viewed as an essential part of a foundation’s efforts, say several members of the Minnesota Council on Foundations.

    In our Summer issue of Giving Forum, “Public Policy and Philanthropy: Many Roads Lead to the Same Destination – Change,” John Larsen, trustee and administrator of the John Larsen Foundation, says, “Ultimately, the work of our foundation is about creating real, systemic change, and that can only happen when we start talking to government. Whether you’re a small family foundation like us, or a very large foundation, we all need shifts in public policy in order to achieve really significant lasting social change.”

    The challenge is that working to achieve shifts in public policy is often equated with lobbying. And the thought of walking up the steps of the Capitol or testifying before a legislative committee is more than many funders can fathom.

    Lobbying, however, is not the sole avenue to influencing public decision making and advocating for causes. Although it is the most recognized public policy engagement tactic, it is only one of 18 distinct policy strategies that Julia Coffman outlines in “A User’s Guide to Advocacy Evaluation Planning,” published by the Harvard Family Research Project.

    A “Framework of Public Policy Activities,” which we include in Giving Forum, also includes using electronic outreach and social media, coalition and network building, grassroots organizing, briefings and presentations, polling, pilot projects, research investigating issues and identifying solutions and policymaker education, among others – all of which can impact public decision making, which ultimately shapes policy development, approval and implementation.

    A foundation can engage anywhere along the continuum, pursuing those activities that fit its capacity, culture, commitment and comfort levels. A public policy activity that feels right for one foundation may not fit another.

    Many foundations choose a combination of strategies, leveraging their resources to: raise awareness of where the public stands on particular issues; bring together divergent points of view to first converse then collaborate; empower community members to advocate on their own behalf by providing technical assistance; increase the capacity of nonprofits to mobilize others; identify messages that resonate with policymakers and the public; determine what would happen if the status quo was allowed to prevail; aggregate what is known already about an issue and put that to work to further discussion; or identify possible solutions and best practices.

    These MCF members have each chosen distinct strategies to impact public decision making that fit their capacity, culture, commitment and comfort level. Read more about their work in our just-published Giving Forum:

    Lead article:

    Southern Minnesota Initiative Foundation: An outgrowth of its grantmaking and programmatic activities, community dialogues and business loan work, SMIF’s public policy activities, including building coalition and networks and partnering with the media to draw attention to the issues and how public policy could impact the success the foundation seeks.

    The Minneapolis Foundation: As part of the School Readiness Funders Coalition, a group of funders with diverse strengths and abilities in advocacy work, The Minneapolis Foundation brings to the group its ability to lobby and testify at legislative hearings to advocate for the coalitions “Agenda to Achieve Learning Readiness by 2020.”

    John Larsen Foundation: When awarding grants supporting work toward LGBT equality, the foundation  considers if educating policymakers is an end goal of the nonprofit’s work and if the organization has a research plan and a track record of communicating those findings to policymakers.

    Indian Land Tenure Foundation: Striving to ensure that lands within the original boundaries of reservations is acquired, owned and managed by Indians, the foundation views education about land issues a priority, as well as identification then pursuit of strategies for achieving legal reform.

    Women’s Foundation of Minnesota: The explosion of social media has created a new landscape for the foundation to leverage its expertise to educate, engage and broaden its reach to shift attitudes, behaviors and institutions that limit equality for women and girls.

    Voices of Philanthropy articles:

    Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation: Identifying partners best qualified to successfully implement strategies and measuring what’s important to guide future initiatives drive the foundation’s advocacy work.

    Initiative Foundation: Based on the belief that local people are the key to strengthening communities, the foundation increases civic engagement by providing training, technical assistance, resource referral and grants to help citizen-based teams develop and carry out strategic plans.

    While these efforts are diverse, the common thread amongst them is the recognition by these foundations that strategically developing goals to influence public decision making and intentionally engaging in public policy activities and advocacy work can move systems change forward.

    - Chris Murakami Noonan, MCF communications associate

    1 Comment | Greater Minnesota, children, collaboration, communication, community foundations, conference, diversity, economy, education, family foundations, giving forum, government, leadership, nonprofits, private foundations, public policy, social justice, youth | Tagged: , , , , , , , , , , | Permalink
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    What I Wish I Knew . . . with Trista Harris

    June 30, 2010

    Trista Harris, Executive Director of the Headwaters Foundation for Justice, thought she was going to run a nonprofit organization after graduate school, but her mentors gave her some great advice that changed the path of Trista’s career.  In this “What I Wish I Knew . . .” video, Trista explains how her advisor from the Humphrey Institute of Public Affairs suggested that she take her interests in nonprofit capacity building to philanthropy, where she could spread her insight and energy to multiple organizations.

    Trista says that affinity groups have been incredibly important to her professional development, as have resources from groups like GrantCraft.  But, she says one of the most important things to remember when taking a position in the field is that ” you didn’t get smarter, prettier, or funnier” when you started working for a foundation.  Trista says there are two ways to approach the work: you can either be a steward of community resources or you can act like you’ve won the lottery.  Trista encourages grantmakers to approach the work with humility and honesty for greater effectiveness.  Thanks, Trista!

    View other videos in our “What I Wish I Knew . . .” series:

  • Ellis Bullock
  • Claire Chang
  • Jeneen Hartley Sago
  • Joan Cleary
  • Patrick Troska

    • - Stephanie Jacobs, MCF director of member services

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    Don’t Close the Achievement Gap, Prevent It

    June 29, 2010

    In recent years, I’ve heard a lot about efforts to close the achievement gap, a national embarrassment that is especially evident in Minnesota.

    Last week I attended “Window of Opportunity: Babies Can’t Wait, The 4th Annual Nancy Latimer Convening for Children and Youth” co-sponsored by the Minnesota Early Childhood Funders Network and the Minnesota Council on Foundations. Evidence presented there was clear – poor children (and their families) need services and intervention, long before the children enter school, to ensure an achievement gap doesn’t start.

    Dr. Richard Chase of Wilder Research puts it this way, “We have to stop talking about how to close the achievement gap. We have to think about how to prevent the achievement gap.”

    Chase talked about the necessity of multiple, coordinated services to achieve this and defined three essentials that very young children need to thrive:

    • A caring and responsive caregiver
    • A language-rich environment
    • Opportunities to safely explore

    In our state, 15 to 20 percent of our babies are vulnerable. Their families live in poverty, increasing the risk that they simply won’t get what they need to succeed. In 2008, 60 percent of American Indian babies in Minnesota were born into poverty, 42 percent of African American, 33 percent of Hispanic, 10 percent of Asian, and 8 percent of white babies. Low-income children of color make up a growing portion of Minnesota’s babies today and of Minnesota’s students and workforce tomorrow. Their success matters.

    Dr. Megan Gunnar, a professor at the University of Minnesota’s Institute of Child Development also spoke. She introduced the theory of “serve and return,” a continual process of the child “serving something out” and how, in a responsive environment, their “serve is returned.”

    This high stakes game doesn’t happen on a tennis court. Instead, imagine a baby smiling and cooing at mom and then waiting for a smile or encouraging word to come back. If she doesn’t get a response, she tries less and less often, and ultimately her brain development slows. An unresponsive environment just doesn’t provide what a child needs.

    Why the lack of response? Caregivers in low-income families are depressed or emotionally stressed 15 to 20 percent of the time, rendering them ineffective at the all important “serve and return.” Lack of access to affordable mental health care and other services exacerbates the problem.

    For both speakers, the answer is clear. Increase funding for the whole child, the whole family and the whole community and do it now.

    Chase summarized, “Close the gap between what science is telling us and what we do. Investing in early childhood gives us the biggest bang for our buck. It’s certainly a better investment than stadiums or airlines.”

    Awards Presented
    This year’s “Nancy” awards, presented in honor of Nancy Latimer, went to Jane Kretzmann, senior program officer at the Minnesota Community Foundation (an MCF member) for her work promoting the healthy development of young children, including development of the Project for Babies, and Arthur J. Rolnick, economist, senior vice president and director of research at the Federal Reserve Bank of Minneapolis for showing the link between early childhood education and healthy communities and economies.

    - Susan Stehling, MCF

    1 Comment | Minnesota Early Childhood Funders Network, awards, children, community foundations, economy, education, research, youth | Tagged: , , , | Permalink
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