A ‘Balancing Test’ for Foundation Spending
Instead of plugging numbers into a traditional formula, taking another look at foundation spending policies is an opportunity for an engaged board to grapple with central strategic questions.
Sectors - Articles
SSIR Guide to Influencing Public Policy
A list of SSIR articles to help nonprofits, advocates, and other civil society organizations build support for addressing the social issues brought to the fore by the 2020 US presidential election cycle.
How Philanthropy Can Help Lead on Data Justice
By embracing community-based participatory research and other equity approaches to data, philanthropy can change the game, revitalize research and communities, and realize greater impact.
Getting the Numbers That Matter for Public Policy
Unregistered births and deaths and other failures to officially document people's lives have compromised public policy around the world. Governments, nonprofits, public health groups, and other organizations that play a critical role in civil registration and vital statistics can start improving their efforts with these six insights.
Podcast
Storytelling and Social Change
How do stories work to expand and accelerate impact? A roundtable discussion between four storytellers and leaders of change on narrative's power to reach and inspire new audiences.
African Conservation Entrepreneurs and Business Solutions to the Biodiversity Crisis
In landscapes where people and natural systems co-exist and intermingle, conservationists must go beyond protection and work to develop community-level incentives for wildlife conservation through sustainable and locally managed use.
Podcast
sponsored
The Economy, Taxes, and Philanthropy: How Donors Can Make the Most of Their Giving Today and Tomorrow
A conversation about the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act, US economic performance, and people's charitable giving with Una Osili, associate dean for research and international programs at the Indiana University Lilly Family School of Philanthropy; Hayden Adams, director of tax and financial planning at the Schwab Center for Financial Research; and Michael Voss, publisher of SSIR. A sponsored podcast developed with the support of DAFgiving360.
Podcast
The Risk and Rewards of Mergers as a Nonprofit Growth Strategy
For nonprofits that want to grow more than incrementally, mergers present a big opportunity—and big risk.
On Becoming a Better Tech Funder
Tech philanthropy is booming, but it doesn’t think nearly enough about the needs of the organizations it hopes to help. Here’s a roundup of best practices and resources that can help tech firms move fast and fix how they fund nonprofits.
Predicting a ‘Kilo of Impact’
Instead of relying on measurement to prove the value of a past investment, determining the value of an intervention before it has even started allows investors to factor in social impact alongside calculations of financial value.