Foundation + Nonprofits = A Better Minnesota

How can foundations and nonprofits work together to build a better state? That is the question evaluated by a new report from the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy. The authors of this study correctly begin by noting the Minnesota is rich in both nonprofit organizations and generous philanthropists (individuals and foundations). This state, perhaps more than any other, should be a place where these two groups come together – not just in the obvious ways, such as when a nonprofit submits a proposal for funding to a local foundation – but in new, meaningful ways to effectuate community change.

So argues the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy and I think they are on the right track. Foundations should begin using new media strategies to engage in advocacy campaigns that benefit the communities they fund, essentially leveraging the dollars invested by funders into even greater returns for communities in need. The numbers alone make an effective case: for the groups surveyed (approximately 15 organizations in Minnesota), "[f]or every dollar invested in their advocacy and organizing work ($16.5 million total), the groups garnered $138 in benefits for Minnesota communities."

Read the entire report here: http://www.ncrp.org/files/publications/gcip-mn-fulldoc-lowres.pdf

This partnership is especially critical in times of budgetary constraints, economic downturn, and general uncertainty. "Foundations can make a measurable difference by partnering with effective grassroots and statewide nonprofits to advocate and organize for long-term, meaningful change." To do so, the report suggests that funders do the following:

1. Increase the percentage of grant dollars devoted to advocacy, community organizing and civic engagement.
2. Engage board members and donors in dialogue about how advocacy and organizing can help a grantmaking institution achieve its long-term goals.
3. Strengthen peer learning and strategizing about advocacy and organizing.
4. Engage nonprofit partners in strategic planning and grantmaking process of foundations.
5. Apply a racial equity lens to grantmaking.
6. Provide general operating support and multiyear grants.

Minnesota has communities in crisis – organizations and their funders need to join the conversation in more ways than ever before. Foundations should share this report with their boards and trustees; individuals should discuss it with family members and those engaged in making philanthropic choices; nonprofits should identify ways they can bring deliverables into sharp relief so that funders can easily see the social change their dollars will help secure.