Headwaters Foundation for Justice | Minnesota Council on Foundations Blog

How Do Foundation Program Officers Gauge Grant Impact?

April 1, 2013

If you work for a nonprofit, perhaps you’ve wondered what happens to a status or final report you’ve written and submitted to a foundation, reporting on a grant. Well, wonder no more.

The Minnesota Council on Foundations hosted a conversation with five program officers from its member foundations about evaluating grants and grantees. The complete conversation will run in the spring issue of Giving Forum –MCF’s publication covering philanthropy news by and for grantmakers, givers and nonprofits.

Participating program officers were:

Joanna Ramirez Barrett, program operations and evaluation director, Northwest Area Foundation
Monica Bryand, senior program officer, Headwaters Foundation for Justice
Nate Dorr, program officer – grants, Northwest Minnesota Foundation
Susan Voigt, program manager, Medica Foundation
Laura Zimmermann, arts program officer and director of artist fellowships, The McKnight Foundation

Program officers answered questions about what types of follow-up reports they request from grantees and how they use and share the data contained within. They were candid about changes they’ve made to processes at their foundations based on grantee feedback, and they told us how they measure their own success as grantmakers. Find out if they believe their success is dependent on the accomplishments of their grantees.

Sneak Peek Video Online Now
Here’s a glimpse into the Giving Forum feature where three program officers (Barrett, Voigt and Zimmermann) give advice on providing measurement data to funders, explain why they believe it is important to do so and recommend resources nonprofit staff can use to learn more about successful evaluation strategies.

To read the complete conversation, look for Giving Forum, in your mailboxes and online by mid-April. If you don’t already receive the free quarterly 16-page print publication, subscribe by creating an account on mcf.org, so you don’t miss the spring issue “Progress Through Evaluation” and future 2013 issues focused on “Corporate Philanthropy” and on “Giving – and Working – Across Generations.”

- Susan Stehling, MCF communications associate

Our special thanks to Pollen for running this as the feature article in today’s issue!

1 Comment | evaluation, giving forum, nonprofits | Tagged: Headwaters Foundation for Justice, Medica Foundation, Northwest Area Foundation, Northwest Minnesota Foundation, The McKnight Foundation | Permalink
Posted by MCF Webmaster

Philanthropy’s Promise

June 13, 2011

More than 60 leading grantmakers from across the country have signed on to a new National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy initiative called “Philanthropy’s Promise.”

These grantmakers have voluntarily committed to:

allocate at least 50 percent of their grant dollars to address the unique needs of the poor, elderly, disabled and other underserved populations,
and at least 25 percent towards supporting advocacy, community organizing and civic engagement to address the root causes of social problems.

Seven Minnesota Grantmakers, all MCF members, have signed on:

General Mills Foundation
Headwaters Foundation for Justice
The McKnight Foundation
The Minneapolis Foundation
Northwest Area Foundation
The Saint Paul Foundation
Women’s Foundation of Minnesota

Kate Wolford, president, The McKnight Foundation, explains their participation this way,

“With limited resources, McKnight’s programs seek to provide support where we believe we can have the greatest impact. In many cases, this requires that we attend to underserved communities. … Additionally, McKnight’s board has long recognized the power of pursuing lasting, systemic change through advocacy, community organizing, and civic engagement.”

To learn more about the background and goals of “Philanthropy’s Promise,” watch this three-minute video.

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- Susan Stehling, MCF

Comments Off | community foundations, corporate, diversity, family foundations, in the news, philanthropy in the media, social justice | Tagged: general mills foundation, Headwaters Foundation for Justice, Northwest Area Foundation, Philanthropy's Promise, The McKnight Foundation, the Minneapolis Foundation, The Saint Paul Foundation, Women's Foundation of Minnesota | Permalink
Posted by MCF Webmaster

What Does It Take to Lead in Diversity and Inclusivity?

May 11, 2011

Who leads? How do they lead? These were among the questions we here at MCF asked ourselves and our members as we embarked on information gathering for our Working Towards Diversity IV research project.

As we learned more about the diversity and inclusion efforts of Minnesota grantmakers, Headwaters Foundation for Justice’s name kept rising to the top. Headwaters strives to be a catalyst for social, racial, economic and environmental justice and supports, through grantmaking and organizational assistance, grassroots groups addressing the root causes of injustice. One of the foundation’s longest-standing leadership initiatives is its community-led grantmaking process in which volunteers from the communities it seeks to support lead all aspects of the foundation’s grantmaking – they review proposals, go on site visits and make funding recommendations to the board.

“What does it take to lead in diversity and inclusivity?” we asked Headwaters program director David Nicholson. Read his full Voices article in our latest issue of Giving Forum, which focuses on “Diversity in Philanthropy: A Portrait of Minnesota.”

Here are some excerpts:

Q: Does leading in diversity and inclusivity require certain competencies?

Being humble is a core competency for any leader. Leaders must also recognize their own power and privilege and understand how to use these in respectful ways. This is critical. We all have privilege; how much changes depending on who’s in the room. The reality is, as foundation staff, we often walk into a room bringing a lot of privilege and thus a lot of power. At Headwaters, we emphasize using our power and privilege “with” rather than “to.” For example, we can convene – facilitating communities and individuals coming together for the common good.

Another competency is working with the “other.” While it is human nature to hang out with people who look and think like us and have similar backgrounds, we must push ourselves to have relationships with many communities. At Headwaters, we believe that difference is an asset that needs to be cultivated. We seek to be intentional about getting to know people and organizations, so we can identify strengths and resources from all communities.

Leading also means bringing people together to find common ground. Leaders also must be interested in advancing systems thinking, to understand how things work in our society.

Q: Is being a person of color a prerequisite for being a leader in diversity and inclusivity?

No. People are people, and anyone regardless of race, creed, ethnicity or sexual identity can have a closed and narrow mind. Your question implies that it is about “race,” when in fact, it is about values. More to the point, it is about ensuring that foundation practices reflect core values.

For example, I believe that gathering diverse viewpoints, people and ideas is critical to developing solutions that will work for more than just a few. The next step is intentionally creating processes that include all differences as equally valuable; that is the process of creating inclusivity. Philanthropy is the research and development labs of our society. When foundations are at their best, they can test assumptions and develop new insights and solutions to the most vexing social ills. To do that effectively, foundations and staff need to lead in diversity (bringing together different and varied parts) and inclusivity (integrating those differences into something stronger, better).

To flip your question is to ask, “How can people from a majority value include minority perspectives?” My recipe for that is rather simple; but it’s hard work. First, develop self-awareness, a deep understanding of your core values, assumptions and beliefs. Then, surround yourself with people who have very different values and beliefs; empower them to challenge you and how you see the world. If you have done your work well, you will truly see and understand “the other”; now you can choose to value it or not. If you choose to value the difference as your own, then the next step – seeking out difference (diversity) and integrating difference (inclusivity) – is easy. If you value the “other,” you will value their perspectives.

- Chris Murakami Noonan, MCF communications associate

2 Comments | community foundations, diversity, giving forum, leadership, mcf | Tagged: David Nicholson, diversity, giving forum, grantmakers, Headwaters Foundation for Justice, inclusion, leadership, MCF Member | Permalink
Posted by Chris Noonan

Families Answer the “What Ifs” and Give with a Purpose

November 30, 2010

When my kids were younger, they thoroughly enjoyed playing the “what if” game, especially on long car rides. What if we had a million dollars? What if we only had $10? What if we could only shop at one store? What if we could live anywhere? What if “school” was never invented? What if no one ever got sick? What if everything in the world was free? What if everyone in the world had to do what you said for a day?

No matter how anyone answered the questions, great discussion and debate followed. We’d probe to discover why each of us would make certain choices and challenge the rationale for having certain priorities.

Families who want to give must wrestle with a myriad of “what if” questions. The choices of what to give, where to give and how to give are seemingly endless.

This week on the blog, I’ll be sharing with you stories of three families who have asked themselves “what if,” and explore how their answers have influenced the grantmaking they do.

Ellie and Maya’s Story

Cousins Ellie Wiener and Maya Wiener Berkowitz are two 20-somethings committed to learning to give responsibly, thoughtfully and intentionally. They’ve asked themselves, “What if we really thought through what it means to have financial privilege, pooled not only our resources but our passion for social justice, framed a giving mission statement, then acted on that statement?”

In 2009, Ellie and Maya awarded their first grants through a donor-advised fund at Headwaters Foundation for Justice. The cousins intentionally give anonymously. Says Ellie, “As people who were given access to money, it is our responsibility to spread it. We don’t need or want personal recognition or excessive thanks for an act we view as a responsibility. Being anonymous donors is one way to defer some of the power dynamics that can come with philanthropy.”

Maya and Ellie do, however, want the nonprofits they select to receive grants to know that young people are interested in their work, so they send a letter with each grant stating that the contribution is from young donors and describing why the organization was selected, often specifically pointing out the organization’s support of youth and its inclusion of the younger generation in its leadership.

Maya and Ellie’s giving story is part of the Fall 2010 issue of MCF’s Giving Forum, which focuses on family philanthropy. To read more, check out the issue’s “Giving Stories” articles, which start on Page 10, or stay tuned for my next two installments of the “what if” series.

Donor-Advised Funds

The families that will be profiled in this “what if” series all chose to give through donor-advised funds. Donor-advised funds can be established at a community/public foundation with a donor’s initial lump-sum contribution. They are often seen as an alternative to giving directly to a charity or establishing a private foundation. Donor-advised funds allow a donor or designated adviser(s) to be actively involved with the foundation in recommending how the fund’s grants are distributed. For more information, visit the MCF website.

- Chris Murakami Noonan, MCF communications associate

Other “What If” Series Posts:

2 Comments | community foundations, giving forum, individual giving, mcf | Tagged: community foundations, donor-advised funds, family philanthropy, giving forum, Headwaters Foundation for Justice, MCF Member, Minnesota Community Foundation, Minnesota Council on Foundations, public foundations, the Minneapolis Foundation | Permalink
Posted by Chris Noonan

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!