Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Lanthorn, Vol. 50, No. 49, March 17, 2016, Grand Valley State University

Volume 50, July 13, 2015 - June 6, 2016

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

Lanthorn, Vol. 50, No. 48, March 14, 2016, Grand Valley State University

Volume 50, July 13, 2015 - June 6, 2016

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

Grand Valley Forum, Volume 040, Number 25, March 14, 2016, Grand Valley State University

2015-2016, Volume 40

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

Grand Valley Forum, Volume 040, Number 24, March 07, 2016, Grand Valley State University

2015-2016, Volume 40

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

Lanthorn, Vol. 50, No. 47, March 3, 2016, Grand Valley State University

Volume 50, July 13, 2015 - June 6, 2016

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

Front Matter

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Emergent Learning: A Framework For Whole-System Strategy, Learning, And Adaptation, Marilyn Darling, Heidi Guber, Jillaine Smith, James Stiles

The Foundation Review

The field of philanthropy is exploring what it takes to achieve impact in complex environments. The terms “adaptive” and “emergent” are beginning to be used, often interchangeably, to describe strategies by which funders can tackle complexity. This article proposes distinguishing between the two and explores more deeply how the research into complexity can inform philanthropic practice.

While approaches like systems mapping, scenario planning, and appreciative inquiry have been put forward as useful approaches to expanding perspectives and seeing whole systems, the field needs a framework for going beyond these planning tools in order to actually create the conditions in which …

Review Of Staying The Course, Elizabeth Delaney

The Foundation Review

Moody, William S. (2014) Staying the Course: Reflections on 40 Years of Grantmaking at the Rockefeller Brothers Fund. London: Alliance Publishing Trust. ISBN: 1907376216

Editorial, Teri Behrens

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Enhancing Funders’ And Advocates’ Effectiveness: The Processes Shaping Collaborative Advocacy For Health System Accountability In South Africa, Barbara Klugman, Waasila Jassat

The Foundation Review

This article describes the roles of five advocacy groups that built collaborative initiatives to address the collapsing health system in South Africa.

The findings presented are based on retrospective reviews of annual reports, organizational evaluations, interviews, and focus group discussions with each of four participating organizations and existing literature on the fifth.

The key findings, for both advocacy groups shaping alliance strategies and for funders, are that flexible funding and a shared value system among groups with diverse capacities, constituencies, and reputational resources is a good approach for enabling adaptive and innovative strategies for holding the public sector accountable.

Foundations Supporting Research And Innovation In Europe: Results And Lessons From The Eufori Study, Barbara Gouwenberg, Danique Ali, Barry Hoolwerf, Rene Bekkers, Theo Schuyt, Jan Smit

The Foundation Review

This article presents the most important results of the European Foundation for Research and Innovation Study, the first study to map the roles and collective contributions of Europe’s large, heterogeneous, and fragmented sector of research and innovation foundations.

The study, based on a review of about 1,000 foundations, estimates that they contribute at least $6.4 billion a year to research and innovation in Europe. While this estimate shows that the contribution is quite substantial, its economic weight is modest compared to that of government, the business sector, and other actors in the domain of research and innovation.

European foundations prefer …

Executive Summaries

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

The Groundwork For Successful Cohort- Based Fiscal Capacity-Building: An Evaluation Of The Strengthening Financial Management Initiative, Nancy Devine

The Foundation Review

This article is based on the findings of an evaluation of The Wallace Foundation’s Strengthening Financial Management initiative, which show that it is possible, with well-designed training and support, to enhance the ability of nonprofit leaders to strategically manage their resources for long-term sustainability and programmatic quality.

The initiative tested two models of capacity building – a relatively high-intensity approach and a lighter, though still substantive, model. While the two shared a common core of content, the amount of resources provided in each of the two models was dramatically different.

In addition to the two main findings – that building …

The Unified Outcomes Project: Evaluation Capacity Building, Communities Of Practice, And Evaluation Coaching, Jay Wade, Leanne Kallemeyn, David Ensminger, Molly Baltman, Tania Rempert

The Foundation Review

Increased accountability from foundations has created a culture in which nonprofits, with limited resources and a range of reporting protocols from multiple funders, struggle to meet data-reporting expectations. Responding to this, the Robert R. McCormick Foundation in partnership with the Chicago Tribune launched the Unified Outcomes Project, an 18-month evaluation capacity-building project.

The project focused on increasing grantees’ capacity to report outcome measures and utilize this evidence for program improvement, while streamlining the number of tools being used to collect data among cohort members. It utilized a model that emphasized communities of practice, evaluation coaching, and collaboration between the foundation …

Assessing A Foundation’S Contribution To Public-Policy Change: A New Framework, Barbara Masters, Gigi Barsoum, Sandra Martinez, Fatima Angeles

The Foundation Review

This article presents a framework for evaluating a foundation’s role in complex policy-change efforts, based on a 10-year retrospective evaluation of The California Wellness Foundation’s grantmaking in public policy.

After examining more than 25 policy outcomes associated with the foundation’s grantmaking priorities, three dimensions of contribution emerged: the role of its grantees relative to other organizations, the prominence of its role and funding relative to other funders or donors, and the degree of alignment between the policy change and the foundation’s policy goals.

The experience of The California Wellness Foundation illustrates that there is no single approach to supporting work …

Inquiry: A Participatory Approach For Understanding Stakeholder Perceptions, Matthew Militello, Christopher Janson, Drew Tonissen

The Foundation Review

This article addresses two important and elusive issues for funded projects: quantifiable measures and deep understandings of participant perceptions.

It describes the development of the InQuiry evaluation tool, which combines Q methodology (factor analysis process to quantify perceptions) with a qualitative participatory approach. InQuiry generates both quantified metrics of what participants believe about a given topic and also a rich narrative of why participants think the way they do. These data yield metrics for understanding fidelity, outcomes, and impacts.

Beginning with the history of a program funded by the W.K. Kellogg Foundation, this article also illustrates the tool’s usefulness. The …

Internal Culture, External Impact: How A Change-Making Culture Positions Foundations To Achieve Transformational Change, Amy Celep, Sara Brenner, Rachel Mosher-Williams

The Foundation Review

This article argues that a foundation’s internal culture is critical to achieving large-scale social change, but that efforts to build a change-making culture too often are left out of strategy conversations.

While there is no one culture that suits every foundation, a particular set of characteristics must be present in those that seek large-scale social change: a focus on outcomes, transparency, authenticity, collaboration, racial equity and inclusion, continuous learning, and openness to risk.

This article offers insights into why culture can be challenging for foundations to address and maintain, examines cases of successful culture change at foundations, and offers advice …

The Philanthropic Collaborative For A Healthy Georgia: Building A Public-Private Partnership With Pooled Funding, Karen Minyard, Mary Ann Phillips, Susan Baker

The Foundation Review

This article explores the origins and structure of the Philanthropic Collaborative for a Healthy Georgia and examines its first initiative: to encourage the development of school health programs in Georgia public schools serving low-income children without access to health services.

Over the last decade, the collaborative has brought together more than 20 private, community, and corporate foundations to respond to the state's health-related challenges. One of its objectives is to provide a structured learning framework that enables foundations to be more informed and effective in their own grantmaking.

The collaborative also pursues opportunities for foundations to collectively fund strategic initiatives …

Back Matter

The Foundation Review

No abstract provided.

Lanthorn, Vol. 50, No. 46, February 29, 2016, Grand Valley State University

Volume 50, July 13, 2015 - June 6, 2016

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

Grand Valley Forum, Volume 040, Number 23, February 29, 2016, Grand Valley State University

2015-2016, Volume 40

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

Lanthorn, Vol. 50, No. 45, February 25, 2016, Grand Valley State University

Volume 50, July 13, 2015 - June 6, 2016

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

Lanthorn, Vol. 50, No. 44, February 22, 2016, Grand Valley State University

Volume 50, July 13, 2015 - June 6, 2016

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

Grand Valley Forum, Volume 040, Number 22, February 22, 2016, Grand Valley State University

2015-2016, Volume 40

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

Lanthorn, Vol. 50, No. 43, February 18, 2016, Grand Valley State University

Volume 50, July 13, 2015 - June 6, 2016

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

Lanthorn, Vol. 50, No. 42, February 15, 2016, Grand Valley State University

Volume 50, July 13, 2015 - June 6, 2016

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

Grand Valley Forum, Volume 040, Number 21, February 15, 2016, Grand Valley State University

2015-2016, Volume 40

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

Lanthorn, Vol. 50, No. 41, February 11, 2016, Grand Valley State University

Volume 50, July 13, 2015 - June 6, 2016

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

Lanthorn, Vol. 50, No. 40, February 8, 2016, Grand Valley State University

Volume 50, July 13, 2015 - June 6, 2016

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

Grand Valley Forum, Volume 040, Number 20, February 08, 2016, Grand Valley State University

2015-2016, Volume 40

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