TWI Blog

Foundation Leaders, It’s Time to Shrink the Gap Between Words and Deeds

By November 20, 2020

Originally published by and reposted with permission from the Center for Effective Philanthropy.  As a longtime advocate for multiyear general operating support (GOS), reading CEP’s recent report, New Attitudes, Old Practices: The Provision of Multiyear General Operating Support, was a sobering and frustrating experience. The Whitman Institute, which I co-lead, started making grants in 2005….

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Spend-Out as a Marathon, Not a Sprint

By August 11, 2020

In 2015, I wrote a reflection as I concluded my first year as a funder, a timestamp in my life that goes something like this: pre-baby, pre-Trump, pre-wildfires, pre-COVID, pre-George Floyd-inspired acceleration of racial reckoning. At that time, I was preoccupied with how to keep my ego from inflating as a side effect of becoming…

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There Is No Better Time Than Now for Philanthropy to Spend Itself Out of Existence

By July 30, 2020

By Ellen Friedman , Glen Galaich, and Pia Infante Reposted with permission of The Chronicle of Philanthropy As our nation grapples with a confluence of crises, philanthropy is abuzz with how best to respond. Some are increasing payouts. Others are allowing grantees more flexibility in how they spend funds. A few have issued bonds to…

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Our Spend-out: What’s Changed, What’s Next

By and June 22, 2020

When we last wrote a reflection on TWI’s spend out, we lifted up our uncertainty and vulnerability as we looked to 2022 as well as our commitment to being transparent about the journey ahead. Here we are, over a year later, and uncertainty and vulnerability remain constant companions – as they are for just about…

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The Urgency of Trust-Based Philanthropy

By April 1, 2020

This post was originally published at the Center for Effective Philanthropy’s blog. “It was so important just to be treated like a human being.” “As a woman of color, I can’t tell you what it meant to be approached by a funder I didn’t know who saw me and trusted me.” “DO SOMETHING!” These comments…

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