Lean foundations make bets on new, creative ideas for addressing social and environmental challenges. Learn how a foundation with one staff person helped tackle the childcare scarcity in Connecticut, by helping build a new incubator model to help women start and grow family childcare businesses. In this two-part Podcast, Kimberley Russo of the Fund for Greater Hartford shares, step-by-step, how the foundation uses its powers to convene, advocate, collaborate, and champion, to help catalyze a new...
Jun 04, 2025•27 min•Ep. 51
Lean foundations make bets on new, creative ideas for addressing social and environmental challenges. Learn how a foundation with one staff person helped tackle the childcare scarcity in Connecticut, by helping build a new incubator model to help women start and grow family childcare businesses. In the 2nd part of her Podcast, Kimberley Russo of the Fund for Greater Hartford shares, step-by-step, how the foundation uses its powers to convene, advocate, collaborate, and champion, to help catalyze...
Jun 04, 2025•19 min•Ep. 50
No matter their mission, culture, or focus, every foundation's first steps toward Catalytic Leadership follow a similar path. A foundation staff person, trustee, donor, or family member ventures into the community to listen, get to know people, and become immersed in an issue. Immersing oneself and getting close to people with knowledge reveals opportunities to use grants and the foundation's other resources in targeted, powerful ways. In this Podcast, we explore these early stages in funders' e...
Mar 12, 2025•26 min•Ep. 49
Leanly staffed foundations can influence how other foundations practice philanthropy. By working in creative, entrepreneurial ways, these agile funders make new or non-traditional practices more accessible for their peers. Newman's Own Foundation is a lean foundation breaking the mold of corporate philanthropy. Paul Newman's legacy of giving 100 percent of the profits from the food company he established, sets the foundation apart from most models of corporate giving, where the norm is giving fi...
Feb 18, 2025•18 min•Ep. 48
Developing knowledge and insight into a specific issue positions foundations to catalyze change. Learning deeply about an issue reveals gaps and leverage points where you can target foundation resources in the smartest ways. Malcolm Macleod, Board Chair of the Johnson Scholarship Foundation , highlights a powerful way to acquire knowledge and insight - recruiting people in the community and field who have deep knowledge and lived experience, to serve on your foundation board. Malcolm explores ho...
Jan 24, 2025•21 min•Ep. 47
Foundations practicing Catalytic Leadership understand that making deeper, lasting progress on a priority issue requires working with organizations across all sectors, and with community members directly. Catalytic leaders use their unique powers to connect, convene, and support collaboration. In this Podcast, President and CEO Debra Jacobs of the Patterson Foundation shares how her foundation applies this systems approach to helping children achieve grade-level reading by the end of third grade...
Nov 26, 2024•19 min•Ep. 46
Staff and board of the Crimsonbridge Foundation know that scholarship dollars have long played an important and familiar role to support student participation in tuition-based education. They've invested in building the capacity of schools from kindergarten through college to create welcoming, inclusive institutions that foster the sense of belonging needed to support student success. So when they looked for solutions to increase the participation of Hispanic students in Catholic schools, they p...
Oct 22, 2024•16 min•Ep. 45
Danielle Reyes, President and CEO of the Crimsonbridge Foundation , observes that many times, discussions about improving philanthropy call upon foundations to minimize their presence and agency. Danielle invites us to take a more complex view of foundations' role. In a series of Podcasts, she reminds us that money alone is not enough to make deeper, longer-lasting systems change. She observes that social sector organizations want their funders to do more - to step up and take actions that draw ...
Aug 27, 2024•15 min•Ep. 44
Danielle Reyes, President and CEO of the Crimsonbridge Foundation , observes that many times, discussions about improving philanthropy call upon foundations to minimize their presence and agency. Danielle invites us to take a more complex view of foundations' role. In a series of Podcasts, she reminds us that money alone is not enough to make deeper, longer-lasting systems change. She observes that social sector organizations want their funders to do more - to step up and take actions that draw ...
Jul 18, 2024•22 min•Ep. 43
Some say the highest and best use of philanthropy is to drive innovation and creativity. Champions of this role emphasize foundations' and donors' freedom to support - with grants and also connections - entrepreneurial people seeking to develop, test, and scale new approaches to the toughest issues. In this Podcast, meet Brett Howell and Kirsten Midura, the founder and lead staff of the Howell Conservation Fund (HCF) . HCF is a lean funder dedicated to supporting innovation and market-based appr...
May 24, 2024•25 min•Ep. 42
It was a win-win solution, hiding in plain sight. Community colleges could serve more parents with young children, if parents had easier access to affordable childcare. Head Start Centers, for their part, want to serve more families. Idea: If more community colleges could host Head Start Centers right on their campuses, eligible parents would have immediate access to free child care, colleges could better tap into a population of potential students, and Head Start centers could get free space an...
Apr 18, 2024•9 min•Ep. 41
It was a win-win solution, hiding in plain sight. Community colleges could serve more parents with young children if parents had easier access to affordable childcare. Head Start Centers, for their part, want to serve more families. Idea: If more community colleges could host Head Start Centers right on their campuses, eligible parents would have immediate access to free child care, colleges could better tap into a population of potential students, and Head Start centers could get free space and...
Apr 18, 2024•15 min•Ep. 40
Any person at a leanly staffed foundation, no matter their role, can embrace Catalytic Leadership in Philanthropy (CLIP). In this special podcast episode, Exponent Philanthropy CEO Paul D. Daugherty and senior advisor, producer, and host of the Catalytic Philanthropy Podcast, Andy Carroll discuss this critical mindset and practice, how it fills a gap in the space, and how anyone can begin to adopt CLIP. *** Andy Carroll is a senior advisor at Exponent Philanthropy and the producer and host of th...
Apr 02, 2024•18 min•Ep. 39
In Part 3 of our Podcast exploring the catalyst role of the E arl & Kathryn Congdon Foundation in the economic revitalization of High Point, North Carolina, foundation staff Megan Oglesby and Joe Blosser chronicle the creation of a prototyping and training facility called the Generator. Furniture design and craftmanship has had a long history in High Point. Though manufacturing shifted to other countries, many professional designers and skilled craftspeople continue to reside in the area. To...
Mar 07, 2024•16 min•Ep. 38
In Part 2 of our Podcast exploring the catalyst role of the Earl & Kathryn Congdon Foundation in the economic revitalization of High Point, North Carolina, foundation staff Megan Oglesby and Joe Blosser describe a key part of the project, a coworking space called the Commons. Megan and Joe share how the Commons was designed to promote networking and idea generation, why the foundation and its partners decided to make access free, and the programming offered by the Chamber of Commerce to meet...
Feb 16, 2024•19 min•Ep. 37
Small, place-based foundations operate in almost every rural region, town, and city in the U.S. Many of these communities have experienced a dramatic loss of jobs in the past decades. As local foundations make grants to meet immediate needs, their leaders consider whether the foundations might also play a part in rejuvenating local economies and lifting opportunity and hope for the residents of their towns and regions. In this podcast, meet the staff of a foundation of two committed to doing jus...
Feb 07, 2024•21 min•Ep. 36
When the Kuni Foundation asked its nonprofit partners in Washington State and Oregon what they most needed, the answer was "data." Their partners knew that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in the two states were undercounted, and therefore public funding and services were inadequate. The foundation complied, and the results of the data study not only confirmed the gap but revealed, in a stunning way, a deep gulf between needs and services provided - including in hous...
Oct 13, 2023•12 min•Ep. 35
When the Kuni Foundation asked its nonprofit partners in Washington State and Oregon what they most needed, the answer was "data." Their partners knew that people with intellectual and developmental disabilities (IDD) in the two states were undercounted, and therefore public funding and services were inadequate. The foundation complied, and the results of the data study not only confirmed the gap but revealed, in a stunning way, a deep gulf between needs and services provided - including in hous...
Oct 13, 2023•23 min•Ep. 34
The David and Lura Lovell Foundation supports its nonprofit grantees to engage in a wide range of issue advocacy activities. Through this support, the foundation acts on its mission to help its partners achieve wins that not only alleviate issues but may actually solve persistent or urgent social problems. Among the successes of its grantee partners is the passing of two bipartisan federal bills that protect survivors of sexual misconduct from being silenced. In this Podcast, foundation Executiv...
Jul 10, 2023•27 min•Ep. 33
When the board of a foundation dedicated to innovation in healthcare delivery asked, "What could we achieve with advocacy?", the question changed the entire trajectory of its philanthropy. Executive Director Jennie Riley of the Rx Foundation began learning about advocacy, organizing, and civic engagement from other funders and communities. In this Podcast, Jennie shares how the foundation journeyed to pursue its current goal - to build and nurture long-term community power to advance health just...
Jun 20, 2023•14 min•Ep. 32
When the board of a foundation dedicated to innovation in healthcare delivery asked, "What could we achieve with advocacy?", the question changed the entire trajectory of its philanthropy. Executive Director Jennie Riley of the Rx Foundation began learning about advocacy, organizing, and civic engagement from other funders and communities. In this Podcast, Jennie shares how the foundation journeyed to pursue its current goal - to build and nurture long-term community power to advance health just...
Jun 20, 2023•19 min•Ep. 31
Listening to community members and people with field experience is an essential practice of funders who make outsized impact. Listening to the community revealed to the Tzedek Social Justice Fund in Asheville, North Carolina the need to offer respite and recognition to individuals who have devoted years of paid and unpaid labor to supporting fellow residents. Many of these individuals have worked to tear down systemic racism, gender inequality, and religious prejudice. The foundation decided to ...
Apr 24, 2023•21 min•Ep. 30
Dan Ely, Vice President and former Board Chair of the 1772 Foundation , shares the actions board and staff took as soon as they uncovered the connection between the foundation and profits made from the labor of African peoples enslaved in the late 18th century by the forebears of the benefactor, Stewart B. Kean. One operating principle of catalytic funders like the 1772 Foundation, is taking responsibility for an issue and acting creatively and decisively. By taking a series of steps immediately...
Feb 10, 2023•15 min•Ep. 29
In Part 2, Joey Borgogna of the Speranza Foundation shares the techniques he uses to build a peer learning community for the foundation's artist fellows, and personalize learning and technical assistance to individual artists' needs. The leadership program encompasses one-on-one coaching, peer interviews to learn about the artists' work and life, individualized training and technical assistance, group workshops, in-person visits to experience artists' work, and celebrations. Joey urges foundatio...
Dec 22, 2022•17 min•Ep. 28
The pandemic underscored challenges faced by artists and performers, and at the same time, the indispensable role they play in sustaining our culture and connecting us. As Joey Borgogna, director of the Speranza Foundation , puts it, "We get the gift of artists being in the world." The foundation shifted from supporting arts creation, to the more hands-on work of building community among its artist fellows, to nurture renewal, growth, and leadership in ways personalized to the artists' individua...
Dec 22, 2022•14 min•Ep. 27
When working to advance its mission, the Pascale Sykes Foundation in New Jersey has never backed away from challenge and the need to venture into new kinds of work. The foundation focuses on nurturing opportunity and success for working families. Recognizing that lack of jobs and transportation in rural South Jersey undermined hope for families, the foundation built relationships with organizations in other parts of New Jersey to target resources to this underserved region. Richelle Todd-Yamoah ...
Nov 22, 2022•20 min•Ep. 26
Colleen O'Keefe, Executive Director of the Sauer Family Foundation in St. Paul, Minnesota, points out that all grantmaking is done in the context of large systems encompassing nonprofits as well as government agencies. Colleen realized she needed to talk with people who work in different parts of the child welfare system to understand the system as a whole and where the foundation could add real value. In this two-part Podcast, Colleen shares how listening without preconceptions, inviting people...
Sep 26, 2022•21 min•Ep. 25
Colleen O'Keefe, Executive Director of the Sauer Family Foundation in St. Paul, Minnesota, points out that all grantmaking is done in the context of large systems encompassing nonprofits as well as government agencies. Colleen realized she needed to talk with people who work in different parts of the child welfare system to understand the system as a whole and where the foundation could add real value. In this two-part Podcast, Colleen shares how listening without preconceptions, inviting people...
Sep 26, 2022•23 min•Ep. 24
Families that welcome the engagement and ideas of their next generations open up the potential for innovation and new opportunity. Kimberly Quintero, Program Associate at the Pincus Family Foundation, explains how foundation staff facilitate involvement by the 3rd generation, their collaboration with the board, and partnership with grantees. Hear how the next generation of foundation leaders honors the founders' values while linking the mission to address current and emerging issues. This evolut...
Aug 03, 2022•18 min•Ep. 23
What impact can result when a funder collaborative engages deeper and deeper with nonprofits, and keeps challenging how it does philanthropy? The journey of a collaborative catalyzed by the McCune Foundation, a small foundation in New Mexico, led to the design of a platform enabling a wide variety of private and public funders to build capacity and leadership in Native American communities, in ways prioritized by tribal leaders and community members. Henry Rael of the McCune Foundation shares ho...
Jun 23, 2022•17 min•Ep. 22
