“When it comes to donating money, whom do you trust?” This was the headline of a recent New York Times piece by Ann Carrns that extolls the virtues of philanthropic advisers who help “idealistic” donors who may be “blind to potential faults in the groups they support.” While we don’t deny the value of experienced…
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…
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…
Over the past few years, the Peery Foundation has cemented a practice of grantee-centric philanthropy rooted in building trust, dignity, and self-reliance. Its portfolio is focused on strengthening youth and families by supporting social entrepreneurs and organizations in the San Francisco Peninsula, as well as leaders in developing countries working on innovative solutions to address…
Last year, The Whitman Institute joined a group of foundations from around the country in a collaborative rapid response fund: Defending the Dream. While we were already doing our own rapid response grantmaking, we knew that teaming up with other funder partners would allow us to work more swiftly and effectively without reinventing the wheel….