In her seminal Stanford Social Innovation Review piece “The Curb-Cut Effect,” PolicyLink founder Angela Glover Blackwell wrote about a fascinating phenomenon where laws and programs designed to benefit those with disabilities and impairments often end up benefiting everyone. Her example was (of course) curb-cuts, that sloped wedge cut in an elevated curb allowing smooth passage between … Continued
In part one of this series, we examined how good due diligence can help your private foundation avoid incurring taxable expenditures from the Internal Revenue Service (IRS). We took a standard, hypothetical grant request—a $150,000 proposal from a local homeless shelter—and saw how seemingly small elements of the proposal could lead to big problems for … Continued
Most grants that are awarded by private foundations don’t carry significant legal risks. For instance, consider a grant proposal for $150,000 from a local homeless shelter to allow the shelter to start a housing-first program. No big deal, right? But what if, buried in the grant application, was a one-sentence output proposal that indicated the … Continued
PEAK launched nine forums for peer learning and support in spring 2021 in response to members asking for more dedicated spaces to convene around shared identities. Among them is the Latinx Caucus, which met for the first time during PEAK2021 Online. PEAK’s Latinx Caucus provides a safe space to celebrate cultural heritage, shared identities, and … Continued
Sponsored by Blackbaud You may be aware of the recent 100 Forms in 100 Days campaign recently completed by GrantAdvisor and the Technology Association of Grantmakers (TAG). This was a study to improve the grantseeker experience, by examining commonalities across grant applications. To achieve this goal, they asked for 100 grant applications to be submitted … Continued
Since it was founded in 1971, ABFE has been a vocal advocate for effective and responsive philanthropy in Black communities. In 2020, the organization rose as a leader in the sector amid the upswell of anti-racist activism in this country. “We stepped out with 50 years of experience behind us,” ABFE CEO Susan Taylor Batten … Continued
I work at a private foundation and one of my grants management duties is to update the board three times a year on the grant applications we are considering for awards, the grantmaking budget, and other information. But at meetings, the board would sometimes be distracted trying to look for the information while discussion was … Continued
“We have not succeeded in answering all our problems. The answers we have found only serve to raise a whole set of new questions. In some ways we feel we are as confused as ever, but we believe we are confused on a higher level and about more important things.” —Earl C. Kelly, educator, The … Continued
“Grant operations are key to envisioning change, making effective updates, and working toward equity in philanthropy,” said Michael McAfee, President and CEO of Policy Link, during a keynote address at PEAK 2021’s annual conference. And it’s true. PEAK’s 5,000 members hold unique power as leaders in grants operations and, perhaps without realizing it, are in … Continued
In its first six years, WomenStrong International has invested $15 million to nurture learning and lift up a growing community of organizations that center their work on the real-life needs and experiences of women and girls in urban areas around the world. We view trust-based grantmaking as both an equity issue and an essential component … Continued