network mindset

The Power of Networks: More Than a Cliché

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By Hanh Le, Exponent Philanthropy

Exponent Philanthropy and Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO) partnered earlier this year to publish Supporting and Engaging in Network: Partnering for Greater Impact. Based on GEO’s Cracking the Network Code, it explores how funders are working with and through networks to achieve more with their giving—essentially, how funders can leverage the power of networks.

And there it is, a phrase we hear and see so often these days: the power of networks. When will we stop hearing people espouse “the power of the network”? Not likely anytime soon, since networks are indeed powerful, and they aren’t going anywhere. Networks, groups or systems of interconnected things or people, have been around as long as there have been things and people, and they will continue to be around as long as things and people continue to exist.

Why all the buzz now, then, and what’s the “so what” for philanthropy?

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Get Into a Network Mindset

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By Emily Wexler, GEO, and Hanh Le, Exponent Philanthropy

As grantmakers and nonprofits look for ways to collaborate more effectively, many are working with and through networks to achieve greater impact.

The Sunflower Foundation works with a network of 29 health care safety net providers committed to integrating medical and behavioral health systems.

Said President and CEO Billie Hall, “We see networks as a forum for learning and dialogue—bringing together diverse organizations committed to a common goal. The willingness to share experiences and strategize solutions, the collective voices, and the leadership that emerges from such a network can be the catalyst for change.”

Because networks are by definition loosely controlled and emergent, understanding how to effectively support them can be difficult for many philanthropists. The successful use of networks for collective action is typically guided by a “network mindset,” which consists of four main principles: 

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