This website contains the results of a partnership between the W.K. Kellogg Foundation and the David and Lucile Packard Foundation, both of which have demonstrated an understanding of the leverage that can be gained by making efforts to enhance the field of philanthropy a programmatic priority. The partnership was initiated by Tom Reis, a program director within the Philanthropy and Volunteerism unit at Kellogg, and by Barbara Kibbe, then the director of Packard’s Organizational Effectiveness and Philanthropy Program and now vice president for program and effectiveness at the Skoll Foundation.
As representatives from two of the very few funders doing grantmaking to build the capacity of philanthropy and nonprofits, Reis and Kibbe were troubled by their perception that the U.S. nonprofit sector was not keeping up with the pace of change. In 2000, they asked Global Business Network to explore how the tools of futures thinking, in which GBN specializes, might improve the ability of nonprofits, including foundations, to adapt more effectively.
The resulting effort proceeded in two separate but related streams of activity that continue to evolve. The first, which was funded by the Packard foundation alone, aimed to accelerate progress in helping nonprofit leaders learn to anticipate and adapt better to a complex and rapidly shifting external environment. It led to a number of experiments in training and consulting, and ultimately resulted in a guide for nonprofit leaders called, What If?: The Art of Scenario Thinking for Nonprofits, which can be purchased or downloaded for free.
The second stream of activity, which was funded equally by the Kellogg and Packard foundations, attempted to do scenario thinking about philanthropy itself. The result was a wide-ranging inquiry into the future of philanthropy that began with an initial scenario-building exercise, and then broadened its efforts, ultimately creating elements of a theory of change for philanthropy. A full look at the main outcomes and thinking of the initiative can be found on this website.
While GBN continues to work with nonprofits frequently, the future of philanthropy initiative will now be carried forward by the Monitor Institute, part of GBN’s parent company, the Monitor Group. The Institute is the primary vehicle through which the Group is now launching a new phase of experimentation about how to best use its knowledge, expertise, skill, and capital to address complex social challenges.
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