Stanford Social Innovation Review

Grantees of foundations have little control over which program officer takes their case. Yet program officers make or break grantees’ experiences with foundations. To trigger social change, foundations must give program officers better training, clearer expectations, and regular performance feedback.

Some books ought to be read as pairs. Joel L. Fleishman’s and Martin Morse Wooster’s recent offerings are such a duo, offering sometimes diametrically opposed perspectives on philanthropic successes and failures. 

Kaiser Foundation and Viacom take on AIDS—one episode at a time.

Lessons on grantmaking.

Are foundations paying trustees too much money?

General operating grants can be
strategic – for nonprofits and foundations.

Strategies for spreading social innovations.

A power imbalance undermines the social sector.

Top foundation leaders reveal how they set
payout rates, executive salaries, and trustee compensation.

Teaching inner-city kids business skills to build their confidence and aspirations. 

Foundations should do their own media outreach.

How funders flout their own rules.

Foundations can move past traditional
approaches to create social change through
imaginative – and even controversial – leadership.

The potentials and pitfalls of partnering.

Why mainstream and liberal foundations
and the think tanks they support are losing
in the war of ideas in American politics.

Eight reforms to make nonprofits more accountable and effective.

Variation is the rule when it comes to foundation expenses and compensation.

Foundations need to make more of the right kinds of mistakes.