Conscious Funders

From Uncomfortable Truths to Courageous Action

By May 3, 2018

Note: This post originally appeared on Social Velocity. The 2018 GEO National Conference came to a close today, and 950 of us headed back to our respective cities, families, teams, and desks with fresh connections, conversations, and challenges to integrate back into our daily lives.  I’ll admit that there are times when I come home…

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Funder Spotlight: Daphne Foundation

By April 17, 2018

The Daphne Foundation is a New York-based foundation whose mission is geared toward advancing a more equitable, fair and peaceful New York City.  The foundation recently updated its grantmaking practices to be more reflective of its values, a core component of which is trusting the leadership and power of people most affected by systemic inequality….

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Funder Spotlight: Proteus Fund

By March 27, 2018

Proteus Fund is a public foundation that partners with individual donors and foundations to design and manage collaborative grantmaking on a range of social issues—from curbing the growing influence of money in politics to advancing marriage equality and protecting civil liberties in an age of heightened national security. Even with three distinct funding initiatives with…

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Streamlined Reporting: It’s Not Just For Grantees

By March 13, 2018

People often wonder how we are able to understand the impact of our grantmaking when we don’t require our grantees to submit formal reports. TWI has learned that streamlined reporting frees up more time for relationship-building and authentic partnership. In fact, what we’ve experienced is that we’re able to learn more from a dialogic approach than we…

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Funder Spotlight: International Women’s Health Coalition

By March 5, 2018

When The International Women’s Health Coalition came across The Whitman Institute’s trust-based model two years ago, Program Officer Erin Williams instantly knew that the framework would help IWHC align its grantmaking practices with its feminist values. Since adopting a deliberately trust-based approach, IWHC now solicits ongoing feedback from grantees and is finding enhanced internal clarity…

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