Browsing by Subject "Grantmaking"

Now showing 1 - 4 of 4
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    Best Practices in Education Grant Making
    (2009) IU Lilly Family School of Philanthropy
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    Board and Staff Representation and Grantmaking in Community Foundations: The Effect of Racial Representation, Intersectionality, and Donor Control
    (2024-07) Ming, Yue; Paarlberg, Laurie E.; Badertscher, Katherine; Gazley, Beth; Rooney, Patrick
    As the United States continues its significant demographic shift, concerns persist about philanthropic responsiveness to the needs of diverse communities. While foundations aim to address societal challenges, historical leadership structures can pose barriers to equitable outcomes. This raises questions about the representativeness of philanthropy to the broader public. The theory of representative bureaucracy establishes a framework for understanding the connection between representation and outcomes, positing that passive representation, which is bureaucrats share the same demographic origins as the general population, will result in active representation, which is producing policy outputs that benefit the interests of individuals who are passively represented. This study applies the theory of representative bureaucracy to nonprofits, specifically examining the case of community foundations in the United States. It investigates the influence of racial representation, the intersectionality across race and gender among representatives, and the impact of donor control on grant allocations to underserved groups. Key questions examined include: Does a positive relationship exist between racial representation in board and staff in community foundations and grant allocations to grantee organizations serving people of color? Does intersectional representation yield stronger results than solely racial representation? Does increased donor control weaken the positive relationship between board and staff members’ representation and grant allocations to grantee organizations serving people of color? This study utilizes longitudinal data spanning from 2012 to 2016, collected from a national sample of community foundations. The findings contribute both theoretically and practically to the understanding of the relationships among representation, discretion, and grant-making outcomes within the nonprofit sector.
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    Democracy aid in post-communist Russia: case studies of the Ford Foundation, the C.S. Mott Foundation, and the National Endowment for Democracy
    (2015-05-01) Wachtmann, Jenna Lee; Lenkowsky, Leslie; Smyth, Regina A.; Witkowski, Gregory R.
    The collapse of communism and the fall of the Soviet Union offered an unprecedented opportunity for the international community to support transitions to democracy in a region that had long known only totalitarian rule. Among the key players engaged in supporting efforts were U.S. grantmaking institutions, including both non-state and quasi-state aid providers. This thesis explores the motivations and evolving strategies of three different types of grantmaking institutions in a single country, Russia, with a particular focus on democracy aid provision from 1988-2002. The three types of grantmaking organizations examined through case studies include: the Ford Foundation, a private foundation with a history of international grantmaking spanning several decades; the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, a private foundation known primarily for its domestic focus with a much shorter history of international grantmaking; and, finally, the National Endowment for Democracy, a U.S. government-created and heavily taxpayer-funded organization established as a private nonprofit organization to make grants specifically for democracy promotion. Motivating factors for initiating or expanding grantmaking in Russia in the late 1980s included a previous history of grantmaking in the region, a previously established institutional commitment to democracy promotion, international peace and security concerns, and interest from a top institutional leader. Over the course of the fourteen year period studied, five grantmaking features are identified as influencing the development of grantmaking strategies: professional grantmaking staff; organizational habit; global political, social, and economic environments; market and other funding source influences; and physical presence. Though subject to constraints, the non-state and quasi-state grantmaking institutions included in this study were able to avoid weaknesses identified with private philanthropy in other research and demonstrated a willingness to experiment and take risks, an ability to operate at the non-governmental level, and a commitment to long-term grantmaking, informed by expertise.
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    The Roles of Foundations in American Religion
    (2009) Wuthnow, Robert; Lindsay, D. Michael