Stephanie Berkowitz

💡 If you work with non-profits, then it’s no secret that it's getting harder and harder for them to reach their fundraising objectives. As a foundation or fonds de dotation (French endowment fund) a simple way help is to provide multi-year funding.   👇This article from KV Philanthropy Consulting offers a few insights as multi-year vs one-off donations and what impacts they can have for both associations and foundations. Don’t hesitate to let me know what you think! (Vous trouvez également la version française via le lien ci-dessous) #Donation #Multiyear #foundation #fondsdedotation #nonprofit #charity #association #grantmaking #fundraising #philanthropy

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When thinking back to my time as a nonprofit CEO, I recall many sleepless nights wrestling with funding challenges. Conversations often focused on writing grants, annual campaigns, and donor engagement, but the results stayed the same. It wasn’t until we started thinking differently that we saw real change. 🚀Imagine a nonprofit and philanthropic world where innovation drives fund development, creating sustainable impact within our organizations, where new ideas are celebrated, and risks are seen as opportunities.  🌟 In my latest Coaching Innovation Blog, Innovating Fund Development for Greater Impact, discover how embracing innovation can transform your organization's approach to funding. ❓How can nonprofits elevate their fund development strategies to create greater impact? 🧠 Cultivate a Culture of Innovation: Encourage an environment where creativity thrives, and risks are part of the growth journey. 🔍 How can you foster a culture of innovation? Reflect on your organization's openness to new ideas and discuss your risk tolerance and risk threshold. 💡 Innovation Pop-ups: Organize regular brainstorming sessions to bring together diverse perspectives and generate innovative new fund development strategies. When we create a culture of innovation that leverages technology and embraces diverse funding sources, we can transform our organizations and the communities we serve. How have you leveraged innovation to support fund development? 🔗 Check out the full article at www.Jordansydnor.com . 

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Interested in learning strategies to help you better advocate for inclusivity and justice in your communities? Explore Urban Institute and Race Forward Government Alliance on Race and Equity’s new Equity Resource Navigator, a tool designed to help local leaders find resources to advance equity in the communities they serve.  Check out the webinar for a live demonstration of the navigator and learn how equity work across the United States is evolving:  https://urbn.is/3yIGCle  #Equity

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Whilst its hard to see that any progress has been made, to the contrary - it looks like 0 progress made and everything got worse, with recent years breaking through the 1.5C targets. We mustn't give up hope that the many initiatives that have been kicked off as a result of these agreements, have prevented worse things from happening... too optimistic? maybe But working in the sustainability and SDG space has never been more exciting, with many people sharing that a just transition to a more sustainable, de-growth and circular economy is, ...possible. The questions is how fast, to prevent worse things from happening (Climate Catastrophy, Ecological Collapse, ...the list is getting longer). Currently the ANNUAL financing gap to the 2030 SDGs is (according to UN estimates), around $4 trillion. This is the same as Germany's or Japan's Gross Domestic Product. This is a staggering number and concept that the money missing to achieve the SDGs is the same as the monetary value of ALL finished goods and services made in Germany or Japan on an annual basis. And yet, the world economy is worth around $100 Trillion, so $4 trillion = 4%. That ...almost...sounds doable? too optimistic? maybe When it comes to asset managers, total discretionary assets under management (AUM) of the 500 biggest managers amounted to USD 113.7 trillion at the end of 2022, down by 13.7% from the end of 2021. The largest, BlackRock, manages $10 trillion and the next biggest 2, Vanguard ($9 trillion) and Fidelity ($4 trillion). Surely, investing into solutions on a planet that is actually liveable with resources being consumed at a sustainable pace is what its at? Otherwise, what will be managed in 20 or 30 years?

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We can see 👀 that community-led collaborative funds are emerging as powerful tools for driving equity and justice. These funds 💵 unite diverse stakeholders around shared goals, pooling resources to address complex social challenges. By fostering collaboration among donors, nonprofits, and community leaders, collaborative funds amplify impact and drive meaningful change at scale 💬. Community-led collaborative funds prioritize equity and justice, channeling resources towards systemic solutions💡and underrepresented communities. 🌍 By bringing together a diverse array of perspectives and expertise, these funds amplify grassroots initiatives, promote inclusive decision-making, and dismantle barriers to opportunity. 🙌🏽 🙌🏾 🙌🏿 Through strategic investments in areas such as education, healthcare, and economic empowerment, community-led collaborative funds drive tangible progress towards a more just and equitable society. How can we leverage these funds to address systemic inequalities and advance social justice? 🌀 Share your thoughts and experiences in the comments below! How do you envision community-led collaborative funds shaping the future of philanthropy? #collaboration #PhilanthropicAdvising

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“In order to understand the full state of our country’s carceral systems, let alone measure the effects of any legislative or policy reforms we may create or lack, we need accurate and timely disaggregated data.”    Our justice and public health systems intersect. Poor data quality in one system can and does impact our overall health. Learn more about why better prison data is important to achieving equity and justice in a new blog post from @The Leadership Conference on Civil and Human Rights.    https://lnkd.in/eyJRY7fC     #PublicHealthData #DataEquity 

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Watch the complete video of our President and COO, Diallo Smith, alongside other panelists in the full discussion "How Justice Demands Are Changing Philanthropy Dynamics" at the recent Mackinac Policy Conference. https://lnkd.in/gabsk__4

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Parent caregivers, this is important. Now is your opportunity to have your voice heard. The July IACC topic is family caregivers, and you can submit a public comment. NCSA's is available now on the blog with tips and more information to submit your own. https://lnkd.in/gZA4Q98D #familycaregiver #profoundautism #advocacy

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Thoughtful Stewardship Motivates Other Donors As seasoned fundraisers will attest, many major donors will, upon making a gift commitment, say they want no recognition and a surprising number say they would prefer to remain anonymous. I don't know how many say that because it's how they feel or because they think that is what they should say. It doesn't really matter. My standard response was "We need your example." Example is important in philanthropy and fundraising. I wanted to afford my donors recognition because I knew it would be inspiring and motivating to others - if we told their story in the right way. All too often we squander the opportunity of example. We announce the amount someone has given and make some banal statements about the transformative effect it will have but rarely do we follow up and demonstrate the actual transformational impact years down the road. Even sadder, we don't do enough to publicize why the donor gave or highlight the values that underpinned and motivated their giving. Yet, the story of why one donor gave can be highly motivating to other current and potential donors. We seem to forget that many of us spend our lives trying to become better people. We seek to liberate our big and altruistic side from our small, selfish and self-protective side. We don't always know how to do that but we try. It's why we look to the examples of others, why we look for people we can admire and emulate. It's not how much someone gave but why. When we hear about someone giving because they want to spare others from the loss or pain visited on them or their loved ones, we revisit our pain and loss and ask ourselves if we have done enough to spare others. When we hear about someone giving to return what they think was a good done for them years ago, we go back to our past and ourselves if we have paid due credit to those who were most helpful in our formative years. When we hear someone giving because they felt fortune smiled on them, we think more about our good fortune and how we might share it. The more we seize on the power of example through effective storytelling, we help others reflect and say to themselves: That's who I want to be like. That's how I could give more meaning to my life. That's how I can become a better person. It's not the size of the gift we celebrate, it's the examples of how people turn to philanthropy to forgive, to convert struggle and loss to purpose, to remember and honor those that shaped their lives, to chip away at injustices visited on them, to provide others opportunities they never had, and to bequeath more to the future than they inherited from the past. We need these examples and these stories. We want to be in the presence of people striving to do good with their lives. We look for ways to be better people. The more thoughtfully we steward and share each donor's story, the more we widen the philanthropic path.

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Check your assumptions. Philanthropy does not look the same in every community. Christal Cherry’s post on “What Fundraisers Should Know About Black Philanthropy” in Greater Public’s blog last summer is inspiring: "'The term philanthropy does not fully embrace just how diverse the nature of giving is, in practice. At its core, the practice of philanthropy is rooted in an unspoken contract committed to the collective benefit of the community.' (Muhmmad, 2021) Black people embrace and understand this and have relied on our full spectrum of giving to survive and thrive for centuries. It is time to shift the narrative and see the Black community as individuals who are actively engaged in philanthropy by both supporting and creating solutions to uplift one another. We know the definition of philanthropy extends beyond financial giving."

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Trust is a verb! People need to be in relationships to foster trust. Therefore, nonprofits need to give the public opportunities to engage with them -- Dr. Akilah Watkins Another great quote from Dr. Watkins: (paraphrased) We need to do a better job as a sector in telling our story...we want to avoid being here in perpetuity. We want to serve individuals today AND solve the systems' problems so individuals don't need our services. Independent Sector Exploring Trust in Nonprofits & Philanthropy webinar. Discussing their recent report on trust and our sector. #nonprofits #Trust https://lnkd.in/gKxfXxnm

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All of it. Every single word. Line by line in accuracy.

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Are you a donor? Grantmaker?  Do you have 10 minutes? Help our colleagues at 21/64 and the National Network of Consultants to Grantmakers (NNCG) gain valuable insights on how you engage philanthropy consultants or advisors to advance your giving. Click here to start the survey >> https://lnkd.in/ejBbSgt7

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Are you a donor? Grantmaker? Do you have 10 minutes? Help our colleagues at 21/64 and the National Network of Consultants to Grantmakers (NNCG) gain valuable insights on how you engage #philanthropy consultants or advisors to advance your giving. Click here to start the survey >> https://lnkd.in/gu_e_PEY

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In this new piece in Nonprofit Quarterly, Ford's Ghada Abdel Tawab and Otto Saki, and Sally Roever of WIEGO - Women in Informal Employment: Globalizing and Organizing explores the critical nexus of civic space and worker rights in the Global South. It's a must-read for anyone interested in philanthropy's role in supporting workers' movements to preserve and expand civic space. At the Ford Foundation, we believe in the power of collective action and the importance of protecting the rights of workers to organize and advocate for themselves and their communities. This article highlights the challenges faced by civil society organizations and labor movements in the Global South and how philanthropy can step up to fuel worker movements to drive positive change.

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Interesting conversation about the longevity and caregiving market, the financial implications of doing nothing, the ways that people are thinking of building new businesses and solutions to serve the growing needs, and what some companies like Bank of America are doing to support their employees. Looking forward to hearing more of Kai Walker's perspective on this at our Business Collaborative for Brain Health https://lnkd.in/e8A9JzT7 meeting this week. Cynthia Hutchins, Kristine Fedorenko, Sarah Lenz Lock, JD Harris Eyre MD PhD, Rajiv Ahuja, JD

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The National Network of Consultants to Grantmakers (NNCG) and 21/64 have partnered to explore the ways that consultants and advisors help foundations and donors achieve their goals, and how consultants and advisors can better serve the needs of their clients. If you are a donor, grantmaking foundation staff or trustee, consultant to grantmakers, or philanthropic advisor who works with donors, this survey is for you! It will take no longer than 15 minutes. Learn more and take the survey: https://lnkd.in/drfkGKgv

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