2020 - A Year of Change

There is no doubt 2020 has been a year of change. As someone who typically goes kicking and screaming into something new, one of the positives of this pandemic for me has been to accept and even, at times, embrace change. So when I ran across these musings by Lisa Pillar Cowan in the December 8 of Chronicle of Philanthropy, I knew I had to share.

Take a look - it’s good food for thought for the coming year.

“When We Return to Our Foundation Offices, Let’s Make Them Spaces Where We Collaborate With Grantees” by Lisa Pillar Cowan, Vice President of the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation in New York City.

Image by @Jr Korpa

Foundations Favor General Operating Support in Theory but Hesitate to Make It Happen

What is your take on general operating support? And better yet, multi-year general operating support? In this time of COVID, nonprofits are challenged to evolve both in their programs and in their revenue generation. But what about foundations? Shouldn’t funders evolve their thinking and grant making as well?

This 10/21 article in the Chronicle of Philanthropy by Alex Daniels highlights a recent study by the Center for Effective Philanthropy that surveyed foundation CEOs and program officers as well as nonprofit organizations. The findings are not surprising but the reasons cited by funders to stick with the tried and true one time program funding are a bit disappointing.

Image by Steve Johnson @steve_j

2020's Word of the Year - Pivot

I don’t know about you, but I am seeing the resiliency of nonprofit organizations in full force. Agencies working on the front lines are seemingly pulling rabbits out of hats to meet the increased demand. And agencies not considered essential are taking the idea of “pivot” to new heights. Who knew that words and phrases such as virtual meetings, let’s Zoom, and how are you pivoting would become commonplace in a few short weeks?

Over the coming weeks I aim to highlight organizations that I believe are offering whole new meanings to the word pivot. These are groups that are not just pivoting their programs to the virtual space but are also reimagining their work. These are groups that are rethinking their industry, especially in the food and beverage and hospitality field, groups rolling out new videos, and people using technology to connect with each other and with their community.

What do you think? Who would you showcase?

Photo by niko photos @niko_photos

One Foundation's Response to COVID-19

The super powers of foundations small and large. An April 15 post on Exponent Philanthropy by Lynn Bentaleb, executive director of the Nancy Buck Ransom Foundation outlines how one foundation with one staff person quickly responded as the coronavirus pandemic was unfolding in the United States. She relies on a variety of resources as her guiding lights including her philanthropy mentors, Exponent Philanthropy, Vu Le and his takes on the nonprofit and funding communities, and the work of Trust Based Philanthropy.

As one of Lynn’s work mentors once said to her, “A crisis is a terrible thing to waste.” Let’s keep the story going about creative ways funders and nonprofits are responding to the COVID-19 crisis today and in the coming weeks, months, and years.

A Resource for Lean Funders Responding to COVID-19

One phrase we hear daily in relation to COVID-19 is “we are all in this together.” Exponent Philanthropy is building upon that phrase through hosting live discussions with funders every Friday at 1:00 CT. These weekly calls began March 20th and are designed to connect lean funders around their responses to the COVID-19 pandemic and to provoke ideas around your own response. The discussions are open to all funders, whether an Exponent Philanthropy member or not.

In addition, Exponent Philanthropy is compiling and updating relevant resources from the field as it relates to the pandemic.

Access Exponent Philanthropy’s resource page.

Register for Exponent Philanthropy’s Friday afternoon live discussions.