Aug 18, 2016

Robert Bosch Stiftung; Dasra;

In the middle of the 20th century, some of America's most storied grantmakers, including the Ford Foundation, the Rockefeller Brothers, and the New World Foundation, placed the heft of their wealth and influence behind the country's growing civil rights movement – and in doing so earned the wrath of their government. This was because the foundations backed the movement extensively, including providing funding for voter registration drives in the segregated South as well as supporting a range of civil rights groups. This did not go down well with the nation's pro-segregation politicianswho opposed them fiercely – some like the Republican Wright Patman even lobbied for the government to take over the foundations' charitable work. Today, they actively collaborate with governments where needed, and are among the heaviest financial contributors in the development sector. For example, of the 28 global foundations interviewed for this whitepaper, 21 of them collectively gave USD 18 billionin 2014-15, a number roughly equivalent to the GDP of Iceland. To spotlight both the growing influence and the impressive span of accomplishments of foundations in this whitepaper, Dasra conducted interviews with over 30 sector experts, including heads of global philanthropic foundations, and building on these interviews, hosted a roundtable in Mumbai in March 2016, in partnership with the Robert Bosch Stiftung. The roundtable brought together 25 of the most influential foundations worldwide, with the aim of building consensus on the role that their organizations can play in contributing to and fueling the global development agenda and to explore avenues for collaboration.

Aug 15, 2016

New York Community Trust;

You've heard the proverb: "If you want to go fast, go alone. If you want to go far, go together." For 40 years, The New York Community Trust has been figuring out how to effectively "go together." The Trust has been funding collaborative funds for the last 40 years. By joining forces, funders combine the resources of many to tackle larger agenda, tougher issues, or long-term challenges. The Trust's most substantial collaboration to date was the September 11th Fund, which pooled $534 million from two million individuals from all 50 states, and 150 countries. The Trust has been home to 20 other collaborative funds, distributing more than $119 million.  "Donor collaboration is on the rise because it meets many needs. By joining forces, funders leverage the resources of many to tackle larger agendas, tougher issues or long-term challenges," says Lorie Slutsky, president of The New York Community Trust. "Collaboration also provides philanthropists with an opportunity to get involved in areas in which they are not experts or take risks they might not assume on their own." To showcase the incredible work of its funder collaboratives, The Trust has launched the report "Stronger Together: The Power of Funder Collaboration." We discuss the innovative strategies of collaboration, and the lessons we've learned about working together to solve complex problems. When funders pool resources, anything is possible. 140 foundations and other collaborators made the City's public school system better for all students; led the fight against AIDS in New York City; and created affordable housing while strengthening organizations that support it.

Aug 03, 2016

Emerging Practitioners in Philanthropy;

The crises affecting our nation and the world are requiring foundations to become more organized, focused and responsive in their efforts. The work of social justice is complex -- and a traditional, siloed approach from philanthropy will not bring about transformational change around issues that are so inherently intersectional. Advocacy groups deeply ingrained in communities understand this all too well, and they often work to address multiple issues simultaneously; they face real challenges when they feel pressured to make their work "fit" into the context of a grantmaker's preferred issue. This narrow approach from funders can negatively impact the ability of these organizations to do the work necessary to truly affect change – and ultimately, it limits the effectiveness of philanthropy, as well. One approach to moving beyond a single-issue focus is to join efforts with other foundations to leverage the reach of our support.

Aug 03, 2016

TCC Group;

As part of the Atlas Learning Project, an effort of The Atlantic Philanthropies, this paper examines the role of legal advocacy as a tool in the social sector for advancing issues of justice and equality. The primary audience for this paper is funders who are interested in enhancing their advocacy or other program work by supporting legal advocacy.  The paper will serve partly as orientation to legal advocacy from a funder's perspective and partly as a guide to effective approaches and practices for supporting legal advocacy. The Atlas Learning Project is a three-year effort supported by The Atlantic Philanthropies to synthesize and strategically communicate lessons from the advocacy and policy change efforts that Atlantic and other funders have supported in the U.S.  The effort was led by the Center for Evaluation Innovation, which commissioned various researchers to probe into questions about advocacy work and how funders support these efforts. 

Aug 01, 2016

Carnegie Corporation of New York;

Immigration Project partners gather and share economic data on immigrants on a wide range of indicators, including ethnographic makeup and average earnings. Collaboration (funding and research) makes it easier for anyone new to the immigration debate to dive right in. Expert fiscal analysis provides a solid grounding for many of the policies that are being championed, such as letting undocumented immigrants get legal drivers' licenses or making them eligible for in-state tuition at state colleges and universities. The groups do the "wonky analysis with lots of footnotes," gauging the economic contributions of immigrants, both legal and undocumented, across the country, and then they do the social math, putting the issues into terms that people—especially lawmakers—can understand.

Aug 01, 2016

Exponent Philanthropy;

The Ohio Transformation Fund (OTF) wants to change its state's justice system from one of mass jailing, particularly of young people and people of color, to one based on stable families, economic security, and access to health care and education. It began with the vision of a national funder building a model together with local funders and key partner organizations.

Jun 01, 2016

Unbound Philanthropy; Four Freedoms Fund;

At a time when an extraordinary rhetoric of hate and intolerance defines our political climate, a narrative of fear towards newcomers threatens to divide us, and the Supreme Court is deadlocked on moving forward President Obama's Executive Actions on immigration, we are deeply moved and lifted up by the story of One Arizona. This is a story of a standout coalition of community partners that is transforming Arizona into a model for Latino civic engagement and political empowerment. Against the heated debate of building more walls along the southern border, One Arizona is a bright light and a reason for hope.

Jun 01, 2016

Unbound Philanthropy; Four Freedoms Fund;

In 2010, Arizona was ground zero for anti-immigrant sentiment and legislation, drawing national and even international headlines for SB 1070, the "show me your papers" law. Activists responded to form the nonpartisan One Arizona, aimed at promoting full electoral participation of Latino citizens, especially infrequent and first-time voters. Three years later, the coalition expanded to target young citizens and unmarried women while continuing to focus on voter registration, voter mobilization, and election protection.

May 01, 2016

National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy;

In this interview, Geri Mannion of Carnegie Corporation of New York shares her thoughts about the biggest challenge facing the country this election year and the role of capacity building in supporting civic engagement. She also offers practical tips for funding state-level efforts to change policy and engage communities.

May 01, 2016

Atlantic Philanthropies;

The Atlantic Philanthropies invested about $60 million between 2004 and 2016 to support efforts to repeal the death penalty in the United States. To assess the effectiveness of this work and to generate lessons for human rights activists and other funders involved in the repeal movement, the foundation commissioned this evaluation. The findings contained in this report are the result of extensive documentation review as well as interviews with foundation and grantee board and staff.

Apr 13, 2016

California Civic Participation Funders;

California's demographics are changing fast, but rates of voting and civic participation haven't kept up. In four rapidly growing counties across the state, a group of funders is working with local organizations to support diverse communities to lift up their voice and exercise their power on issues that affect their rights and their quality of life. The work of the funders and their local partners is yielding important lessons as states and communities across the country begin to experience the dramatic demographic shifts that are transforming California. This new report documents key lessons for philanthropy from this work so far. The report is a follow-up to a 2011 report that told the story of the funders' early efforts. Now, after five years of grantmaking and intensive work in the four counties, California Civic Participation Funders tells a fuller story about how local organizations are coming together and working across issues to mobilize diverse communities to flex their democratic rights. The funders also reflect further on how philanthropy can work with local communities to create a nation where government acts in the interests of all of the people.

Apr 01, 2016

Education First;

Recognizing the complexity of challenges facing public education, funders regularly collaborate to pool knowledge, align strategies and attract more resources. Over the past five years, Education First has provided strategy-setting, facilitation and management support to several funder collaboratives aiming to advance implementation of the Common Core State Standards. In doing so, we've had the chance to see different approaches to collaboration emerge and varied impact from these approaches