Report

International Grantmaking: A Closer Look

Publication date: 
06/2004
Making grants through an intermediary is often the simplest way to fund internationally, and sometimes the most effective. GrantCraft asked a handful of experienced grantmakers and experts about the keys to finding, working with, and getting the most from international intermediaries. How does the relationship between donor and intermediary really work?

Grantmaking with a Gender Lens: Using a Gender Analysis

Publication date: 
05/2004
In this GrantCraft guide, grantmakers and grantees describe the experience of using a "gender lens" in their work. They explain what gender analysis is and isn't - and why it can help shape more effective programs and organizations. The guide also takes a closer look at how gender analysis has led to new thinking in fields as diverse as public health, international development, juvenile justice, and youth services. And it offers additional insights and special advice on issues ranging from "What about Men and Boys" to "Uncovering Gender Assumptions."

Scanning the Landscape

Publication date: 
04/2004
Scanning is no longer something done only when planning a new program or contemplating a shift in strategy. Using learning networks, grant makers are starting to scan continuously, looking beyond the usual sources to find innovative organizations and fresh ideas. GrantCraft asked seven grant makers how they build networks to discover the unexpected in their fields and communities:
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Working with Start-Ups: Grant Makers and New Organizations

Publication date: 
04/2003
In this GrantCraft guide, grant makers from a wide range of funding organizations describe their experiences as supporters of new nonprofits, or start-ups. Find out how they negotiated the path from idea to organization, and what they learned along the way about how to solve problems and help an organization sustain itself into the future. Contributors to this guide also offer their recommendations for capacity-building resources on the Web.
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Foundations Moving On: Ending Programmes and Funding Relationships

Whether you are part of a family foundation that runs its own programmes, a big corporate grantmaker, a small venture philanthropist, an NGO that re-grants resources from a back-donor, or a mix of any of the above, exits are inevitable. Funders move on, and relationships with grantees, partners, or investees change along the way. Exit decisions and strategies are complicated; while a diversity of experiences has not (yet) produced blueprints for smart exits, we’ve pulled our favourite practices.
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Learning Together: Collaborative Inquiry among Grantmakers and Grantees

Many grantmakers champion the idea of using evaluation to improve grantee effectiveness or advance a field of practice. It's a worthy endeavor, but how can you make it happen in the real world? This guide explores an increasingly popular method called "collaborative inquiry." Grantmakers define the practice, consider potential benefits and grapple with common challenges. A mini-case study shows how collaborative inquiry was used to support growth in a new field.
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Making Measures Work For You: Outcomes and Evaluation

An outcomes-based approach to evaluation works, proponents say, because it uses straightforward metrics to assess actual impact. How else to know if the work you're supporting is leading to the desired changes? Other grantmakers counter that outcomes measurement should be approached with care. Hasty assumptions or over-confidence in the idea that program impacts can be translated into hard data can skew not only the evaluation but the work itself. This guide looks at tensions that drive the debate about outcomes measurement, as well as common questions about its potential risks and rewards.
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Mapping Change: Using a Theory of Change to Guide Planning and Evaluation

"What are we doing, and why do we think it's going to make a difference? Are we being effective?" Grantmakers ask evaluation questions like these of their grantees and themselves. This brief guide explains why grantmakers use theories of change to guide their questioning, unearth assumptions that underlie their work, establish common language, and develop strong action plans. Contributors to the guide also describe how a theory of change sets the stage for evaluation by clarifying goals, strategies, and milestones.
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Relationships Matter: Program Officers, Grantees, and the Keys to Success

Relationships Matter: Program Officers, Grantees, and the Keys to Success sheds light on what constitutes a strong funder–grantee relationship, what nonprofits say it takes for funders to foster such relationships, and the crucial role that program officers play in the equation.

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