Sonia Worcel’s Post

There are some fantastic insights in this brand new article on embracing ecosystem approaches to philanthropy, from our friends at FSG. I loved this note on strategy development in systems: "Strategy in complex systems must serve as a compass instead of a map, laying out a clear direction and focus for the work and then enabling learning and course correction along the way." https://zurl.co/zrlG #EcosystemThinking #VisibleNetworks #SocialNetworkAnalysis

"While most of the philanthropy field continues down a business-as-usual evaluation path, a new approach to learning is rising — one that is rooted in trust, equity, and learning for impact. Some funders are suspicious of this reimagined framework; many believe (falsely) that it is not concerned with outcomes or based in rigor. Few understand that it can hold the key to the long-term, systemic change that most of us are working toward." - Brenda Solorzano Chief Executive Officer of the Headwaters Foundation, Brenda S. tackles the question: Can rigorous evaluation & trust-based learning go hand-in-hand? Spoiler: yes! And she has examples to back it up.

👇 A few examples of how we practice trust-based learning and evaluation from our VP of Organizational Learning and Effectiveness. We'd love to hear from you: what other approaches should we be considering? 

Current grantmaking process doesn’t fuel learning or evaluation dynamically or reciprocally. We can do better. Trust-Based Philanthropy Project frameworks begin to articulate why current approaches are problematic for the communities we aim to serve and how we can do better. Currently, #Reporting practices are particularly awful. “It sets up short-term metrics that allow funders to pat themselves on the back, rather than see, and actually address, the real challenges communities face, including the time they waste unnecessarily reporting to funders. It also fails to capture actual learnings that could be useful to grantees, communities, or foundations. These traditional approaches to learning and evaluation also ignore very real discrepancies between groups with resources to put toward grant reporting, and those without. These differences often run along lines of race, gender, gender identity, class, and other social factors. Smaller groups with less support tend to have less capacity to track and report their impact along traditional business models. When grantee partners are able to report back, the funder-initiated song and dance continues. Organizations share what they believe funders will want to hear, and staff then pass along the information they think boards will want to hear. It’s a game that many know is being played, but that our sector refuses to call out. Many funders, my former self among them, ask grantees for reports and data that never or rarely get read.” 🤦🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️🤦🏽♀️ouch ouch ouch. We can do better. Add a sprinkle of #Ai and where will we go #changemakers ? #Trust is earned. That takes time and patience - a real commitment to relationship. Interrogating reporting practices won’t make you a #tbp convert - but it may begin to tip the scales toward relationship … which is far superior to transaction in our sector - where we aspire to generate #impact (not calculate #roi) Thank you Brenda S., Headwaters Foundation Center for Effective Philanthropy Northern California Grantmakers Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO) Philanthropy New York PEAK Grantmaking

I appreciate that this article contains links to tools and resources. Whether you practice #trustbasedphilanthropy or not, I'd consider this one minimally worth a skim.

This piece from Center for Effective Philanthropy caught my eye last week. Can philanthropy take a trust-based approach without compromising values of rigor and impact? YES! Two takeaways that resonated with me: 1) Ask grantees what information they need to know if their work is having the desired results or if they need to make adjustments. Strong organizations don't just collect impact data for funders -- they use it internally for program learning. What are they using to assess impact and can funders align here so that grantees are not collecting separate data just for them? 2) Take a bigger picture approach to evaluation and learn for long-term impact. Rather than asking a grantee to evaluate the impact made possible by a single grant through a pre-determined evaluation framework, consider what is the larger community impact you are looking to affect and follow those metrics and indicators of success (or co-create new ones with grantees). The article gives the example of black preterm birth-related deaths. This broader view allows grantees to flex and adapt to environmental needs and trends for a more impactful investment. Trust-Based Philanthropy Project #evaluation #impact

Despite seeing moderate to high board support in using evaluative data to support strategy, only 38% of foundations report that their boards offer high support for using evaluation or evaluative data to help advance equity. Read more about the state of philanthropy in our 2023 Benchmarking Report and how the report findings point to growth and areas of improvement: https://lnkd.in/dJgEsYXJ

Countless organizations have adopted trust-based philanthropy and are driving even more impact in our communities. Learn more about how this is fostering collaboration, transparency, and equity. #philanthropy #grantmaking #trustbasedphilanthropy

Today I went down the most delightful rabbit hole. It started with a newsletter about an ecosystem approach to philanthropy (and evaluation) that landed in my inbox from FSG. Catalyst's current portfolio includes the use of ecosystem approaches and work with philanthropic organizations, but we have not yet used this language at the same time. Color me intrigued! The newsletter then linked to a blog post by Brenda S. that describes how traditional evaluation methods fall short when it comes to measuring social and systems-level change (yup), along with pillars of trust-based evaluation that can help begin to shift philanthropic and evaluative paradigms. AND examples of how she and others are doing this work - that's right, real examples folks! https://lnkd.in/ejKEnjYu The newsletter also linked to the Equitable Evaluation Initiative which then linked to an entire volume that I had not yet discovered that describes the equitable evaluation framework. https://lnkd.in/eG52Efy7 If anybody needs me for the rest of this week, you might just have to wait - I'll be reading.

In the realm of philanthropy, systems change has been a hot topic, but recent evaluations reveal it's been more talk than action. Large organizations often take the spotlight, overshadowing the vital role small organizations play in driving real transformation. The +1 Global Fund, "a network-based platform that leverages peer nominations to discover small, earlier-stage organizations in the Global South," has played a crucial role in enabling systems change through direct support of small, community-led organizations. These lesser-known organizations possess a deep understanding of their communities and employ collaborative strategies to bring about lasting change. At Orange Sparkle Ball, we believe allocating resources to small organizations is paramount to producing real impact. While big players may seem like the obvious choice, small organizations can deliver results just as impactful. By embracing and empowering these local champions, funders can create a more diverse and inclusive ecosystem for systems change, leading to a broader pool of initiatives and innovative approaches. https://lnkd.in/g4Hq5CA3 #humancentereddesign #openinnovation #externalinnovation #corporateinnovation #innovation #global #technology #communityactivation #leverforchange