Tag Archives: TCC Group

Jul 24 2013
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Grantmaking, Rachel Humphrey

Expert Advice on International Giving: Start Here

By Rachel Humphrey, TCC Group

In her previous posts, Rachel made the case for small-staff philanthropy’s niche in international giving, and she shared ingredients for success: building equitable relationships and conducting effective site visits. Here she shares one more: getting help from experts.

Did you know? According to Caitlin Stanton, Director of Learning and Partnerships at Urgent Action Fund, a public foundation with deep expertise in international grantmaking for women’s rights, in some locations, a grantee’s physical or digital security can be put in danger simply by being contacted by a U.S.-based funder. UAF has developed comprehensive security protocols that enable the organization to provide funds for women’s rights defenders in the most difficult circumstances.

With limited staff resources and the complexities of international grantmaking, small foundations are wise to tap into the expertise of the philanthropic community when getting started with international giving. Sources of help include affinity groups, public foundations, and grantees and potential grantees.

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May 16 2013
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Grantmaking, Rachel Humphrey

Just Say No to the Dog and Pony Show…and Other Advice on International Site Visits

By Rachel Humphrey, TCC Group

In her previous posts, Rachel made the case for small-staff philanthropy’s niche in international giving, and she shared ingredients for success that may apply to domestic giving as well. Here she shares another key ingredient: conducting effective site visits. Which of her pointers can you apply to your philanthropy, international or domestic?

Take Oprah’s visit to a slum in Mumbai. One can assume that Oprah had positive intentions in her visit, yet, when the piece aired, a palpable tone of judgment and comparison to her reality offended many. When she asked a family about its small home—“I don’t mean to be offensive, but does it feel crowded?”—she was judging the people she visited by the yardstick of her (very different) experience.

No matter how difficult are the living situations of the grantees you visit, undoubtedly you—and they—want to end the site visit with their pride and dignity intact.

How can you avoid such a cross-cultural faux pas?

Know your purpose, and communicate it

To get the most out of a site visit—international or otherwise—it is critical that you define why you are doing the site visit in the first place. Are you visiting simply for the experience of getting to know the grantee and learning about its work? Or does it serve a monitoring purpose? Are you aiming to build trust? Or is it simply a nice thing to do while you are in the country?

What will the site visit do for you? And how will it serve your grantee?

Once you have clarified its purpose, be sure to communicate it to the grantee. If you just want to drop in to say hello, but the grantee thinks it is being monitored, it is unlikely that you will have an enjoyable and productive site visit, and you could damage the relationship with the group significantly. Unless it clearly serves your intended purpose, consider asking your grantee to forgo the usual “dog and pony show.”

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Mar 26 2013
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Grantmaking, Rachel Humphrey

Creating Fair, Equitable Relationships in International Grantmaking

By Rachel Humphrey, TCC Group

In her previous post, Rachel introduced us to The HOW Fund and the firsthand experiences that shaped its international grants. Here she discusses a key ingredient for success in international giving—and one that applies to domestic grantmaking as well: creating fair, equitable relationships.

The right question is not “What can I do for you?” It is “What can I do with you?”

When I worked at the Global Fund for Women (GFW), one of our mantras was, “How we do our work is as important as what we do.”

This resulted in a grantmaking program that very deliberately trusted and respected grantees’ expertise and decisions, including providing general operating support. We operated without deadlines and accepted unsolicited proposals in any language and any format.

On site visits in Kyrgyzstan and Morocco, I witnessed firsthand the impact of our approach on the relationships between GFW and its grantees. Grantees always set GFW apart from their other funders and described GFW’s support as “much more than money.” They also felt comfortable enough to provide candid feedback on GFW’s work, and often shared their programs’ failures and challenges as freely as their successes.

Although the funder–grantee power dynamic certainly did not disappear, the playing field for these grantees was a bit more level than with other funders.

What can small-staff philanthropy take from this example?

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