Site Search

 - resource provided by the Forum Network Knowledgebase.

Search Tip: Search with " " to find exact matches.

How Foundations Use Communications to Advance Their Public Policy Work

Publication date: 
05/2010
This study examines how foundations that wish to engage in public policy are using communications to expand the reach and impact of their work. It reveals that communications is at the very center of successful policy engagement for the foundations interviewed, which make use of ten distinctly different strategies to boost their policy engagement. Among the foundations included in the study are The Atlantic Philanthropies, the Carnegie Corporation of New York, the Ford Foundation, and the Rockefeller Brothers Fund.

Funding Community Organizing: Social Change Through Civic Participation

Publication date: 
11/2008
Grantmakers who fund community organizing say it's the best option when you want to promote civic engagement and support lasting solutions to a community's problems. Yet many funders, concerned about the ability to measure its impact and effectiveness, hesitate to take up community organizing as a strategy. In this guide, funders and organizers discuss what makes community organizing unique and uniquely effective, how to manage grantee relationships over time, understanding the value of process, and the grantmaker's special role in fostering change.
Find More By
Resource type 
Report
Topic(s) 
Grantmaking Strategy & Tools
Funding Area 
Community Development
Social Justice

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.
Find More By
Resource type 
Report
Topic(s) 
Evaluation
Grantmaking Strategy & Tools

Grantees Report Back: Helpful Reporting and Evaluation Processes

Publication date: 
01/2011
Foundations often use grantee reporting and evaluation processes to gauge the effectiveness of their work. At the same time, many funders seek to simplify reporting and evaluation processes for grantees so that these nonprofits can spend more time doing their work. How do grantees experience reporting and evaluation processes? What makes them most helpful? How can foundations improve them?
Find More By
Resource type 
Report

Pages