Strategic Philanthropy: Maximizing Family Engagement and Social Impact January 4, 2008 By Visceral_Dev_Admin Many family foundations start out giving to causes based on trustees’ personal interests. As they grow, more family members with more interests become involved, making the giving more diffuse. Many assume that a scattered approach is the cost of involving family members—that in order to establish and maintain participation, family members must be allowed to … Continued
The Best of the Humanistic and Technocratic: Why the Most Effective Work in Philanthropy Requires a Balance January 1, 2011 By Visceral_Dev_Admin This Foundation Review article highlights the need for a blended strategy and ways funders can be more effective, including: As a more technocratic approach to philanthropy has emerged over the past 15 years, it has been seen as the opposite of humanistic philanthropy. Rather than a dichotomy, these approaches are on a continuum. The best … Continued
Maximizing Foundation Effectiveness: Aligning Program Strategy, Organizational Capacity, Strategic Planning, and Performance Assessment to Achieve Success January 1, 2008 By Visceral_Dev_Admin Funders are increasingly being held to higher standards—by regulators and the general public. This paper is for funders interested in concrete strategies for developing effective grantmaking programs.
Designing Effective Foundation Program Strategy February 2, 2012 By Visceral_Dev_Admin Strong grantmaking programs reflect a foundation’s values, balance internal capacities with the external environment, and address constituents’ needs. This briefing paper shares the five essential steps to creating programs with impact.
What Makes an Effective Coalition? Evidence-Based Indicators of Success January 1, 2011 By Visceral_Dev_Admin What are the crucial ingredients for an effective coalition or network, and how can they be cultivated and evaluated? Based on a literature review and TCC’s own knowledge and experience, this briefing paper shares research on best practices with regard to effective advocacy coalitions. This work was commissioned by The California Endowment, a leading funder … Continued
What Makes an Effective Advocacy Organization? A Framework for Determining Advocacy Capacity January 13, 2009 By Visceral_Dev_Admin In an effort to develop frameworks and methodologies to be able to meaningfully evaluate policy change efforts, TCC Group conducted an evaluation of a cohort of advocacy organizations who were receiving general support from The California Endowment. This resulting paper draws on a variety of sources, looking at the context for policy and advocacy work … Continued
When Things Fall Apart: Building Organizational Strength of Humanitarian Aid Organizations January 2, 2008 By Visceral_Dev_Admin Humanitarian aid organizations (HAOs) constantly balance competing demands: developmental change with emergency relief; visible and immediate impact with long-term sustainability; and donor and media demands with the needs of the population. HAOs are usually the first on the scene in the wake of a disaster, and as more organizations enter the field and solicit public … Continued
Visionary Resistance: Inside the Rapid-Response Model of the Emergent Fund January 1, 2017 By Visceral_Dev_Admin Authors: Women Donors Network, Solidaire, Democracy Alliance, Threshold Foundation The Emergent Fund started as a plane built in mid-air in response to the threats posed by the 2016 election. Resources were urgently needed in many places without much time for deliberation. Then in the summer of 2017, following several rounds of grantmaking that began in … Continued
Advocacy Campaigns and Embedded Evaluators: Lessons Learned January 2, 2017 By Visceral_Dev_Admin From 2014 to 2016, TCC Group (TCC) partnered with Pre-K for PA Campaign and Campaign for Fair Education Funding (CFEF) to act as their embedded evaluator. For each advocacy campaign, TCC’s focus was on the quality of strategy, progress on short- and long-term goals, and internal capacity. Working with CFEF and Pre-K for PA provided … Continued
Unique Methods in Multi-Stakeholder Evaluation February 2, 2017 By Visceral_Dev_Admin Authors: ORS Impact, Spark Policy Institute, TCC Group A seminal resource in the advocacy evaluation field, “Unique Methods in Advocacy Evaluation” (Coffman & Reed, 2010) increased evaluators’ awareness of methods uniquely positioned to evaluate advocacy. This second brief adds to that toolbox, this time focusing on methods that have been successfully used to understand multi-stakeholder … Continued