By Maya Winkelstein, Open Road Alliance, and Henry Berman, Exponent Philanthropy
The world of funders and philanthropists is quite diverse. Yet regardless of our size, focus, or decision-making process, we all have two things in common: First, we all want our dollars to result in real impact and change. Second, no matter how we deploy those dollars, the impact we seek is not a sure thing. In other words, every grant and investment we make carries risk.
As described in an earlier blog post, The Missing Piece of Modern Philanthropy, few funders think about, discuss, or plan for the unexpected in their work. As a 2015 survey shows, 76% of funders don’t even ask their grant applicants ‘what could go wrong,’ and when funders don’t ask, grantees don’t tell. This missed communication matters deeply, because when funders and grantees ignore risk, we jeopardize the impact we seek to achieve.
Now there is a tool to help.
In 2016, a 25-member group, called The Commons, spent six months working to create a baseline Risk Management Toolkit including how-to guides, templates, and sample protocols that any funder can adapt or adopt for its own uses.
To help small-staffed foundations, families, and individual donors more easily navigate the toolkit, we offer the following key takeaways and three “top tools” to consider to bring a greater risk awareness and practice to your work.
Philanthropy follows its own journey of learning and discovery for every donor, board member, and professional who gives. For our association members, who give as individuals or as part of small-staffed foundations, that journey can feel lonely and isolating at times.
The Texas Capitol is big. The tip of its dome is almost fifteen feet taller than its counterpart in Washington, DC. Decisions made there impact almost thirty million people. When you enter the building, you can feel the seriousness, history, and purpose. For anyone who believes in democracy and representative government, it is downright awe-inspiring.
Where there is trust, we feel safe enough to be vulnerable. This is really powerful. It means we can share challenges and problems, offer new ideas, and provide honest feedback. By being able to be honest and open, we make it more possible for problems to be addressed, and good ideas to be considered and put into action.
