Best Practices in Corporate Citizenship Structures December 18, 2017 By Marketing Admin Companies with strong reputations as corporate citizens are respected for providing value to society in a comprehensive way – through their products and services, their operational excellence, and their support of the community. As companies face increasing pressure from stakeholders to address complex societal issues, many are developing programs and initiatives with ambitious social impact goals, but often, without the requisite structure to ensure the programs are effective.
Be Informed: Developing Content for Media Campaigns (Stage 2) December 18, 2017 By Marketing Admin Media campaigns are intended to affect their audiences – such as convincing people not to text and drive, or persuading people to purchase a product or vote for a particular candidate. There are various touchpoints where media can help lead an audience from awareness to action on an issue . Being able to track these touchpoints – and the anti audiences engaged – enables organizations and media distributors to more efficiently and effectively test their content as well as intelligently move audiences from awareness to action at a faster, more effective rate. Referencing the four key stages in a media campaign , this post focuses on the second stage: content development.
Three Ways Foundations Can Navigate Changing Political Tides December 7, 2017 By Marketing Admin In today’s turbulent climate, when shifting political winds and policy changes go hand-in-hand with ever-expanding health care needs across the country, how can health funders be strategically effective? TCC’s Melinda Fine Ed.D. and Jessica Mowles share three strategic learning processes that will engage foundations and funders during complex times.
Responding to the Call: How to Pursue Legal Advocacy October 26, 2017 By Marketing Admin Without legal advocacy, many norms and rights that people rely on, may have never been established. School desegregation (argued through Brown v. Board of Education), gay marriage (argued through many cases, but before the Supreme Court as Obergefell v. Hodges), clean water and air (argued at both state and federal levels as a myriad of lawsuits) – all were established as part of a legal advocacy strategy.
Three Common Questions about Funding Advocacy October 3, 2017 By Marketing Admin Since the 2016 election, my colleagues and I have noticed one of two things: more funders considering a first-time investment in advocacy, or funders strengthening their existing commitment to fund advocacy work. In response to this surge of activity, we’ve had the opportunity to share our findings – regarding effective strategies to support advocacy campaigns – with different groups of funders. These engaging and deliberate conversations generated additional questions – from which we’ll highlight three:
What Can Associations of Grantmakers Teach You? October 3, 2017 By Marketing Admin In mid-July of this year, I had the opportunity to attend the Forum of Regional Associations of Grantmakers conference (#ForumCon17) in San Francisco. This conference brings together a large swath of the organizations that provide networking and support functions to foundations across the United States. I wanted to share some of my takeaways from time at the conference—some of which relate specifically to the conference and some to the valuable side conversations that happen when you bring smart, passionate people together.
The Age of the Strategic Follower October 3, 2017 By Marketing Admin A few years ago I was introduced to my now favorite TED Talk: Derek Sivers on “How to start a movement.” In two minutes he explains how a movement starts using some amusing footage of a spontaneous dance group. If you haven’t seen it, it is worth the break. What captivated me was his conclusion—and it wasn’t about the leader.
6 Ways Family Foundations Can Make A Difference in Immigrant and Refugee Lives September 27, 2017 By Marketing Admin With all the changes in the political climate over the past year, I’ve been especially concerned for immigrants and refugees. Many families in my city and community have been affected by the new executive orders and administrative actions, and I’ve read stories about many others across the country that are at risk. This can feel overwhelming when I think about the impact on people I know. The issues we’re dealing with are daunting and complex; it makes me wonder how I can be most helpful.
Diversity, Equity & Inclusion: Are You Asking the Right Questions? September 27, 2017 By Marketing Admin As an evaluator, I have seen varying levels of commitment to using principles of DEI and acknowledge that it is not always an easy or straightforward endeavor. Here are a few clarifying points on how I frame thinking about DEI and some guiding questions to discuss when thinking about incorporating DEI in your work:
Why Companies Invest in Social Enterprises July 25, 2017 By Marketing Admin When President Trump recently announced that the US was pulling out of the Paris Climate Accord, over 100 major US businesses announced their intention to continue their efforts to address climate change. This is a prime example of how companies are responding to stakeholder pressure by developing new approaches and taking a stronger role in addressing complex social issues.
5 Things Foundations Say About Their Capacity July 6, 2017 By Marketing Admin Nearly 60 foundations – of all shapes and sizes – recently took the Foundation Core Capacity Assessment Tool (FCCAT), a self-assessment measure for foundations, to better understand their strengths and challenges. Based on the recent summary report, we break down the top five noteworthy things foundations had to say.
Illustrate Your Impact Goals with Logic Model Heat Mapping July 24, 2017 By Marketing Admin The work you do in the social sector is likely unique in its mission and programs. As unique as it is, social sector organizations like yours share the common goal to “move the needle.” No matter your mission, it is important to ensure your activities are clearly aligned with your ultimate social impact goals. To that end, we have produced three videos that demonstrate how you can use logic model heat mapping to strengthen the alignment between your group’s mission and activities.
Be SMART: Designing Effective Media Campaigns (Stage 1) June 20, 2017 By Marketing Admin There are four key stages in the use of media. These stages include design, development, distribution and reflection. In this piece, we discuss the importance of design and the impact evaluation can have in this stage in creating a successful campaign, and subsequently detail the process.
Building Evaluation Capacity Across International Offices March 28, 2017 By Marketing Admin For NGOs with offices in a wide variety of geographic locations, establishing a Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) system that works for both the headquarters office and field offices can be a real challenge. If those offices operate in different countries, that challenge becomes even harder. Learn how Hand in Hand International (HiH), supported through Johnson & Johnson’s Healthy Futures evaluation capacity-building program, piloted a measurement framework in Eastern Africa, Afghanistan, and London that allows it to have a greater understanding of what is needed to achieve their desired impact and how that varies by region.
What Surprises Me about Human Rights Grantmaking February 15, 2017 By Marketing Admin When your job centers on helping funders assess needs, devise strategies, and manage and evaluate their grantmaking, you wish that every field would have a resource like Advancing Human Rights: Update on Global Foundation Grantmaking. Since IHRFG and Foundation Center launched this series four years ago—and added an interactive website three years ago—I have made regular use of these tools to understand levels of foundation engagement within and at the intersection of issues ranging from women’s rights in the Global South to environmental justice in the United States. This research has also been invaluable in helping the foundations I work with to see just how many peers and practitioners have aligned interests and could become partners in realizing their goals. That is why I was surprised when I sat down to read the 2017 Edition of the Advancing Human Rights report. I realized that in using these resources to answer my very specific, client-focused questions, I had been missing some findings and trends that are beginning to reshape my thinking about foundation support for human rights.