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We equip funders and philanthropic professionals with the tools, skills, and network they need to become effective and impactful grantmakers.
The Challenges of Effective Grantmaking
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High-stakes decisions: choosing between urgent causes to support, knowing more funding will always be needed
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Lack of widespread best practices: unlike for other careers, there are no MBAs or user manuals for effective philanthropy
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Uncertainty: figuring out how to find information and data to guide your decisions, often in opaque environments
Our Solution
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Actionable skills: proven frameworks and methodologies for effective grantmaking developed by experienced practitioners
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Personalized support: 1-on-1 coaching and feedback that tailors our curriculum to your specific goals
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Network and community: a supportive and motivating cohort of peer grantmakers, and a broad array of past participants eager to connect
What Our Program Entails
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A 7-week program with short readings on key concepts and practical tools paired with cohort discussions and peer learning (~3 hours per week)
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1-on-1 coaching sessions with program staff and outside experts specialized in the skills and subjects that matter to you
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One week in-person at the end of the program—dedicated to hands-on grant evaluations and building your philanthropic network.
What We Cover
The program seeks to develop the grantmaker’s capacity for high-stakes decision making. Content includes:
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Defining your scope: identifying what motivates your giving and find your niche (geography, cause areas, NGO sizes)
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Learn and apply the six POWERS of great grantmaking:
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Pricetag – How to know what your funding is “buying” and assess cost-effectiveness
Options – Why you should compare 10+ alternatives before committing funds to one
Who – Going solo, hiring staff, giving to funds, trusting advisors... how to pick who should evaluate your grants
Evaluate – How to pick a top performing benchmark to evaluate opportunties against
Reduce – How to set up a good application process and minimize the burden on NGOs (1 hour of work per $50k)
Substance – How to cut through glossy presentations and charisma to what actually matters for impact​
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Build & leverage your community: how to build your network to amplify your impact, increase your learnings, and influence others
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Thinking outside the box: considering unconventional grantmaking strategies that can unlock new possibilities for impact
Who Is This Program Ideal For
​Funders and philanthropic professionals, like...
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Foundation principals, decision-makers, or grantmakers who are seeking new tools to maximize effectiveness
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Experienced funders seeking to refine or refresh their approach
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New philanthropists who are in the process of setting up their giving
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Philanthropic advisors seeking to help clients increase their impact
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Please reach out to our team with any questions.
POST-PROGRAM OPPORTUNITIES
For grantmakers who want to dive deeper into a particular cause area, we offer the opportunity to join peer Funding Circles, which focus on a number of high-impact cause areas (at present, global health, mental health, animal welfare, and meta/field-building charities).
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Admissions are handled by the Funding Circles themselves.
TESTIMONIALS
Joining the program increased my confidence in making grant decisions. I learned the different ways of thinking about and implementing a grant program. I like that it didn’t just tell me what to do, but rather showed us how to think about our approach.
Deep gratitude to the whole team. I am definitely in a much better place now than before. I know I'll be a better steward of the org thanks to the work you did.
This program taught me how to approach grantmaking decisions more methodically, while also learning immensely from the group's diverse perspectives.
Beyond effectiveness, this program helps you to thoroughly think through how to structure an end-to-end process for grant-making, while learning best practices and sharing learnings from some of the best people in this space.
This program covered all the most important elements of running a foundation, from the macro (Scope and Leverage) to the medio (Strategy and Structure) to the micro (Vetting and Decision Making). The format (mix of online discussions, mini-projects, and in-person week) made the course highly interactive, practical, and fun! I know that many of the tools we learned and applied will shape me into an even more effective grantmaker.
It is too hard to capture the full effect of this course in a short paragraph. It has changed the lens I use to look at world. It has started growth, both personal and professional, that will continue for a lifetime.