Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Disrupting A Foundation To Put Communities First In Colorado Philanthropy, Nancy Csuti, Gwyn Barley

The Foundation Review

This article explores how The Colorado Trust confronted the fact that the lives of many Coloradans remained fundamentally unchanged after years of nonprofit-led grantmaking and, in response, developed a community-led grantmaking process aimed at achieving a new vision of health equity.

These shifts led to significant changes both within The Trust and in long-standing relationships with many nonprofits. The Trust dissolved its program department and replaced the program officer position with a team of “community partners” tasked with building relationships with residents in far-flung regions of the state. Resident groups were empowered to identify the needs in their own communities, …

Reconciling Community-Based Versus Evidence-Based Philanthropy: A Case Study Of The Colorado Trust’S Early Initiatives, Douglas Easterling, Deborah Main

The Foundation Review

One of the dominant tensions in philanthropy involves the question of whether foundations should focus their grantmaking on projects that come from the community versus projects that have a base of scientific evidence. How a foundation answers this question leads to different strategic orientations.

This article describes how this tension was expressed and resolved during The Colorado Trust’s early years of initiative-based grantmaking. The community-based philosophy is illustrated through the Colorado Healthy Communities Initiative, while Home Visitation 2000 serves as an exemplar of the evidence-based approach. The Colorado School Health Education Initiative purposefully integrated the two philosophies.

The community-based and …

Back Matter

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Editorial, Teresa R. Behrens, Ned Calonge

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Executive Summaries

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

How Do You Measure Up? Finding Fit Between Foundations And Their Evaluation Functions, Julia Coffman, Tanya Beer

The Foundation Review

As the number of foundations has grown, the philosophies and ways of working across the sector have diversified. This variance means that there is no one right model for how a foundation’s evaluation function should be designed. It is imperative for a foundation to think carefully about how the structure, position, focus, resources, and practices of its evaluation function can best fit its own needs and aspirations.

This article focuses on questions foundations can ask to assess that fit, and the specific considerations that can inform these decisions. It draws on 2015 benchmarking research conducted by the Center for Evaluation …

Tackling Big Issues Together: The Story Of One Funders Network Promoting The Mental Health Of Young Children, Whitney Gustin Connor, Colleen Church, Barbara Yondorf

The Foundation Review

In 2012, Rose Community Foundation and the Caring for Colorado Foundation supported an environmental scan on children’s behavioral health to better understand challenges and opportunities for philanthropic investment. In the wake of the report’s release they established the Funders Learning Network on Early Childhood Mental Health, an organization of more than 10 community, private, and family foundations, to develop shared strategies for promoting the behavioral health of young children and families.

This article examines the evolution of the network from a learning collaborative to an incubator for jointly funded initiatives. Among its collaborative funding efforts is LAUNCH Together, a five-year, …

The Economic Impact Of The 2016 National Cherry Festival, Grand Valley State University, Christian Glupker

Other Faculty Publications

The National Cherry Festival, July 2-9, 2016, is estimated to have generated or supported economic benefits for Grand Traverse County and Suttons Bay in the following ways:

• $19.0 million increase in economic output
• $11.3 million increase in direct spending
• $5.3 million increase in total earnings
• $1.1 million in new spending by the Cherry Festival organization
• Creating 228 local jobs
• Prompting $66.43 in average daily spending for all visitors
• Bringing $53.00 in per-person, per-day direct spending

Front Matter

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Mission Shift: Using And Evaluating Strategic Communications To Implement Organizational Change, Taryn Fort, Kelci Price

The Foundation Review

Strategic communications can play a role in implementing organizational change by reinforcing understanding of and advancing audiences to accept the changes that impact them. The Colorado Health Foundation uses strategic communications as an integral tool in achieving its organizational mission to improve the health of all Coloradans. Evidence reveals that it was critical to successfully announcing and implementing significant changes to how the foundation operates and invests.

This article profiles the strategic communications approach, from its inception through the application of learnings gathered from a subsequent evaluation. The success of the foundation’s “change” communications strategy was rooted in use of …

Integrating Funders Into A Multisector Transit-Equity Collaborative: Lessons From The Field, Davian Gagne

The Foundation Review

This article examines the efforts of Mile High Connects, a collaborative working to ensure that the Denver region’s $7.8 billion transit project benefits low-income communities and communities of color by connecting them to affordable housing, healthy environments, quality education, and good-paying jobs.

The collaborative, which includes local and national funders that have coalesced around the central issue of transit equity, has adopted a collective-impact model that has at its core two tools to measure and track its work and to show the social-impact outcomes achieved through its initiatives.

This article describes the collaborative’s approach to evaluation, reflects on its initial …

Full Issue

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Lanthorn, Vol. 51, No. 11, September 29, 2016, Grand Valley State University

Volume 51, July 11, 2016 - June 5, 2017

Lanthorn is Grand Valley State's student newspaper, published from 1968 to the present.

Grand Valley Forum, Volume 041, Number 05, September 26, 2016, Grand Valley State University

2016-2017, Volume 41

Grand Valley Forum is Grand Valley State's faculty and staff newsletter, published from 1976 to the present.

Lanthorn, Vol. 51, No. 10, September 26, 2016, Grand Valley State University

Volume 51, July 11, 2016 - June 5, 2017

Lanthorn is Grand Valley State's student newspaper, published from 1968 to the present.

Lanthorn, Vol. 51, No. 09, September 22, 2016, Grand Valley State University

Volume 51, July 11, 2016 - June 5, 2017

Lanthorn is Grand Valley State's student newspaper, published from 1968 to the present.

Grand Valley Forum, Volume 041, Number 04, September 19, 2016, Grand Valley State University

2016-2017, Volume 41

Grand Valley Forum is Grand Valley State's faculty and staff newsletter, published from 1976 to the present.

Lanthorn, Vol. 51, No. 08, September 19, 2016, Grand Valley State University

Volume 51, July 11, 2016 - June 5, 2017

Lanthorn is Grand Valley State's student newspaper, published from 1968 to the present.

Lanthorn, Vol. 51, No. 07, September 15, 2016, Grand Valley State University

Volume 51, July 11, 2016 - June 5, 2017

Lanthorn is Grand Valley State's student newspaper, published from 1968 to the present.

Grand Valley Forum, Volume 041, Number 03, September 12, 2016, Grand Valley State University

2016-2017, Volume 41

Grand Valley Forum is Grand Valley State's faculty and staff newsletter, published from 1976 to the present.

Lanthorn, Vol. 51, No. 06, September 12, 2016, Grand Valley State University

Volume 51, July 11, 2016 - June 5, 2017

Lanthorn is Grand Valley State's student newspaper, published from 1968 to the present.

Lanthorn, Vol. 51, No. 05, September 8, 2016, Grand Valley State University

Volume 51, July 11, 2016 - June 5, 2017

Lanthorn is Grand Valley State's student newspaper, published from 1968 to the present.

Grand Valley Forum, Volume 041, Number 02, September 6, 2016, Grand Valley State University

2016-2017, Volume 41

Grand Valley Forum is Grand Valley State's faculty and staff newsletter, published from 1976 to the present.

Global Civil Society: Challenges Of Security And Policing, Brian F. Kingshott, Jan B. Kingshott

Peer Reviewed Publications

Globalization broadly refers to the expansion of global linkages, the organization of social life, global consciousness; and an expectation of global societal norms and behaviors underpinned by just laws. The democratization of established and emerging nation states identified challenges of security for its citizens. Emerging nation states require a stable government supported by a comprehensive security apparatus that supports its citizenry. That support is provided by a policing paradigm that embraces the state and private security agencies. The authors discuss the challenges facing the security industry and a law enforcement community policing paradigm that is inclusive, transparent, and accountable.

Foundation Support Of Immigrant Communities: Insights From A Survey Of Immigrants In Minnesota’S Twin Cities, Nicole Martinrogers, Ryan Evans, Paul Mattessich

The Foundation Review

Immigration brings both benefits and challenges to communities. This article provides insight into the needs of these communities and offers suggestions for how foundations can consider immigrant and refugee communities in their work.

This article combines information from Minnesota Compass, a foundation-governed social-indicators initiative, and Speaking for Ourselves, a study of immigrants and refu- gees in Minnesota’s Twin Cities metropolitan area that identifies the needs and strengths immigrants bring to our communities.

The results can help guide foundations and their grantees on how to improve a community’s quality of life for immigrants and refugees – to the benefit of all …

Editorial, Teresa Behrens, Vikki Spruill

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Executive Summaries

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Lanthorn, Vol. 51, No. 04, September 1, 2016, Grand Valley State University

Volume 51, July 11, 2016 - June 5, 2017

Lanthorn is Grand Valley State's student newspaper, published from 1968 to the present.

Community Innovation Network Framework: A Model For Reshaping Community Identity, William P. Moore, Adena M. Klem, Cheryl L. Holmes, June Holley, Carlie Houchen

The Foundation Review

The REACH Healthcare Foundation created its Rural Health Initiative to encourage the development of innovative strategies to improve access to health care and reduce health inequities in three rural counties in Missouri and Kansas. The intent was to develop a systematic, sustainable, and coordinated approach to community change that would increase the odds of breaking through the persistent barriers to health care access for the rural poor and medically underserved in these counties.

This article discusses the foundation’s original approach to the initiative and how it adjusted that approach in response to its rural partners’ experiences. It reflects on the …

Knowledge As Leadership, Belonging As Community: How Canadian Community Foundations Are Using Vital Signs For Social Change, Susan Phillips, Ian Bird, Laurel Carlton, Lee Rose

The Foundation Review

The concept of “community” in community foundations is being reframed – less strictly tied to the specific locales that originally defined their boundaries and increasingly about a process of engagement and a resulting sense of belonging.

The greatest asset of a community foundation is not the size of its endowment, but its knowledge of community and ability to use this knowledge for positive change.

This article explores the Canadian network of community foundations’ use of the reporting tool Vital Signs to implement a knowledge-driven approach to leadership and how it is using this knowledge in more inclusive, engaged models of …