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PEAK Grantmaking

Weekly Reader – May 21, 2018

What we’re reading and recommending this week. We add to this post throughout the week and look for your suggestions in the comments.

Monday, May 21

Is the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative the Future of Philanthropy? (Dana Brakman Reiser, SSIR) The for-profit limited liability company is poised to become the preferred vehicle for the nation’s elite philanthropists. What it gives up in tax benefits it repays in flexibility, privacy, and control. Will the public gain from added investment in social good, or lose from ceding even more power to the wealthy?

Tuesday, May 22

A Foundation Helps Scientists to Team Up and Explore New, Shared Ideas (Tate Williams, Inside Philanthropy) One strategy with a lot of potential power in philanthropy’s toolbox is the ability to bring together a variety of people and institutions to collaborate in ways they might not otherwise. One example of a funder that’s really embraced this approach is the Kavli Foundation.

Wednesday, May 23

“Field of Dreams” or How to Build a Winning Grants Team (Jodi Samuels, Foundant) You need to actively build a winning grants team to achieve your goals and win the pennant. So how do you start? How many people do you want or need on your grants team? Who might already be on the bench for you? What tools and strategies can you use to build your team? And what are the biggest challenges you anticipate that could derail your winning team?

Thursday, May 24

Nonprofit Funders, It’s Time to Roll Up Our Sleeves (Nate Nasralla, Nonprofit Pro) Foundations don’t exist to manage a grants process. Foundations exist to create change. So, if money doesn’t change everything, making grants is only the start of your work as a nonprofit funder.

Friday, May 25

Foundations Have Invested $50 Billion in the SDGs, But Who’s Counting? (Arif Ekram & Lauren Bradford, Philanthropy News Digest) The Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) represent the most ambitious — as well as expensive — global development framework in history. Foundation Center has been tracking philanthropy’s support for the Sustainable Development Goals since the beginning.


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