Some funders are increasingly reflecting on their own work, and learning from the related efforts and experiences of others. This openness promotes a new organizational culture focused on learning through a wide range of sources: from evaluation, from communities, from grantees, from each other, from academic institutions, from the growing industry of professionals with expertise about philanthropy itself, and from other types of information intermediaries.
Traditional Approaches
For both individual and institutional donors, learning has been sporadic and typically has meant looking back at their own grantmaking experiences. Many individual donors don’t focus on learning and improvement at all; they are satisfied simply to give, without great concern for the exact outcomes of their gifts. A growing number use external experts or advisers to develop and set up new giving strategies on the front end. But ongoing evaluation of gifts is still relatively uncommon among individual donors. At foundations and other giving institutions, evaluation of programs is typically conducted only in selected instances and usually retrospectively. Evaluations are primarily for internal consumption and are rarely accessible to other funders and the public.
Alternatives
There are now a range of additional options for funders, including:
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