Strategic Planning for Foundations: Get Clear, Get Real, and Get Better (Post #2)

In the November 2009 issue of the Harvard Business Review, an article entitled “Galvanizing Philanthropy” by Susan Wolf Ditkoff and Susan J. Colby asks all foundation leaders to get clear, get real, and get better at philanthropic investment. This is the SECOND of three posts on the article.

Second: What will it take to make change happen? (Getting real)

Conventional philanthropy, or the process of funding individual grantees to support great initiatives, may be just what a foundation should be doing. Or, grant making funds could be dedicated to helping a multi-pronged solution to a complex problem that the entire community is working to fix. Or, investment in innovative ideas may the answer for the foundation. Whatever the decision on how to give away philanthropic dollars, the authors of “Galvanizing Philanthropy” suggest collecting candid feedback from the community to help evaluate the chosen direction. Moving the needle on a complex social problem is not easy and requires a reality check from time to time.

Most foundations are not realistic about what it takes to make real change happen. The authors suggest two traps to avoid here: First, don’t be too optimistic about what limited resources can do, and second, don’t hire people and create processes that don’t fit your chosen strategy.