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Steward Responsively

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Steward Responsively

Manage all entrusted resources—people, finances, reputation, time—with care to balance stewardship with an agile approach to risk.

PEAK Grantmaking calls on grantmakers to reframe risk and to recalibrate their vetting process to make it more transparent, more trust-based, more nonprofit- and community-centered, and less burdensome.

Responsible stewardship is a hallmark of effective grantmaking practices, contributing to public confidence and increasing grantmaking impact. Responsive stewardship means identifying and managing risks, rather than avoiding them. This involves anticipating and adapting to change of all kinds, sharing grantmaking information openly, using technology and data effectively, and serving as facilitators of the grantmaking process rather than guards of the assets.
Grants professionals can connect the dots among knowledge, systems, and relationships to assess and manage risk, seeking creative solutions to remove barriers to impact.
Grants professionals and leaders must have serious conversations about what it means to be responsive, take risks, and understand the context in which their grantees work.
Key Questions:
  • How can you embrace risk and innovation in your grantmaking practice?
  • How can you be a more open, accessible, and transparent grantmaker?
  • How can you most effectively use technology to support your grantmaking process?

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