Blog

What IDEX is learning from artists about trust within grantmaking

By August 17, 2015

IDEX’s artists-in-residence program demonstrates the role of the present moment, courage, and improvisation in social change By Rajasvini Bhansali, Executive Director, and Jennifer Lentfer, Director of Communications, both of IDEX We can admit that many of us entered with trepidation into IDEX’s artists-in-residence program. With a career in nonprofit and global development, we’ve become skilled…

Read more

On Behalf of Naiveté

By August 7, 2015

Recently I found myself around a table of philanthropic leaders in California, many seasoned funders who’ve funded social change and civil rights for years – if not decades. We were gathered around the compelling question of how to support the emerging and powerful movement(s) for racial equity that have gained so much prominence nationally. The…

Read more

Funder Q&A: The Power of Listening to Your Grantees

By July 31, 2015

This was originally posted on The Center for Effective Philanthropy website on July 23rd, written by Ethan McCoy. On June 2, Don Matteson, chief program officer at The Peter and Elizabeth C. Tower Foundation, joined CEP’s Naomi Orensten for an informative and lively webinar about the Grantee Perception Report® (GPR). In the conversation, Don discussed…

Read more

Piercing the Illusion: A Culture of Political Art

By July 29, 2015

[image artwork by Opal Tometi] I’ve been deeply moved by the stories and images from the Cleveland conference that brought together over 1500 leaders spearheading the movement for black lives. Like the catalysts for my musings on Feeding the Philanthropic Imagination, the inspirations from Cleveland provide a potent and timely example of rewriting narratives towards social…

Read more

Cheers to the Rapoport Foundation’s Parting Glass

By July 28, 2015

In my last post I noted my intention to start searching out sunsetting stories of small to medium sized foundations. Consequently, I began exploring Grantcraft’s “Making Change by Spending Down” series produced in partnership with The Andrea and Charles Bronfman Philanthropies. Most of the posts feature thoughtful reflections about Bronfman’s spending out process, but it…

Read more