The process of leading and managing a foundation is complex. Developing a philanthropic vision that combines science with the donor’s passion is not easy. Moreover, developing a strategy to achieve a vision requires a great deal of strategic thinking and planning. Katherine Pease & Associates works with grantmaking foundations and donors to create effective, strategic giving programs and organizational structures by incorporating a donor’s passions and priorities with thoughtful business planning techniques.
Strategic Giving: By eliciting the best thinking of the people intimately involved with the foundation and by examining relevant data, donors and foundation staff and trustees can create powerful giving programs that are designed to accomplish their goals. Katherine Pease & Associates works with emerging foundations and existing grantmakers to develop effective and efficient processes that are designed to answer important questions such as: What is the desired change we hope to achieve? What data exist regarding the subject in question? Who will be impacted? What are the best methods for reaching the target audiences? What kinds of organizations are best suited to accomplish the change? How will we go about funding these organizations?
Creating and Refining Grant Guidelines: Particularly for smaller foundations, the process of developing and reviewing grant guidelines can be time consuming. By utilizing a third party, foundations can elicit confidential feedback from grantees regarding their funding guidelines and, when appropriate, make revisions to the guidelines to suit the evolving needs of the foundation and the grantees.
Creating a Shared Vision: For many emerging private foundations, the primary donor (either an individual or family) often has a compelling vision for the foundation. Ensuring that the vision is effectively communicated to and understood by the people around him or her, however, can be challenging. Katherine Pease & Associates can help those donors to emerging foundations articulate their vision and ensure that the people around them are working toward these same goals.
Effective Organizational Structures: In managing a foundation, the answers to core questions such as the desired ratio of staff to grantees or the decision-making authority of staff vs. board members are critical to developing an effective organizational structure. Katherine Pease & Associates works with foundations to create effective organizational structures, job descriptions and titles, by identifying unique attributes that may affect a particular foundation, as well as the common characteristics and themes that affect how most foundations function.
