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You Don’t Need the Ruby Slippers
Many Americans don’t believe we matter in a system where powerful interests seem to make the rules. Almost half of eligible voters don’t even turn out for elections. Feeling powerless may be our most common self-deception, and our biggest danger. As leaders like Eric Liu remind us, we have tremendous power, if we recognize it... Read More
Insights From a Decade of Philanthropic R&D
As funders, we are expected to measure things: dollars given, grants distributed, organizations served, and what results. These are all familiar metrics. But what if we reconsidered our attachment to these metrics? What if instead of expecting a specific outcome, we pursued a promising hypothesis? This is an accepted practice in other fields, such as... Read More
Hatred Never Takes a Day Off; Neither Should We
I grew up and spent most of my life in greater Boston. This included the 1970s when racial tension in the city was heightened by court-ordered bussing to desegregate the Boston City Schools. It was an ugly time for the region and a city so integral to the American Revolution. If I’m honest with myself,... Read More
Creating Champions for Change From Within
You probably know the feeling. You’ve attended a dynamic conference, read a groundbreaking book, or had an inspiring conversation with a colleague. You know that if you could just get your boss or your board to act on this newfound knowledge, you could make some real changes that result in measurable improvement—either within your own... Read More
Why We Accept Proposals Written for Other Funders
About two years ago, the Robert Sterling Clark Foundation had a chance to rethink both what we do and how we do it. We adjusted our giving programs—painfully letting go of important issues and organizations with the belief that we could do more for New York City with a more focused giving strategy. The foundation... Read More
Funder-Nonprofit Relations Matter, But Is Anyone Listening?
The fraught relations between foundations and nonprofit organizations was a hot topic last year. But as I watched the “Medici: Masters of Florence” series on Netflix over the holidays, I was reminded how power for good or bad has always been a dynamic tension in philanthropy. Searching for signs of humility, empathy, and trust Our... Read More