Seven strategic commitments for our Foundation's post-pandemic work
Recognizing the post-pandemic challenges facing nonprofits, schools, and the communities they serve, the Ciresi Walburn Foundation is reflecting on how we operate, learning from our partners in the philanthropic community so we can employ best practices, and leading in areas where we are currently strongest.
“the Ciresi Walburn Foundation is reflecting on how we operate, learning from our partners in the philanthropic community so we can employ best practices, and leading in areas where we are currently strongest”
While the Foundation’s mission and priorities are not changing, we have made and will make several important changes to our operations, and we are collecting and sharing new data about our grantmaking in an effort to be as transparent as possible with our grantees, potential grantees, and fellow charitable organizations in the Twin Cities and across Minnesota. We’re making the following seven strategic commitments in order to increase the impact of our work:
1. We “Demand Great Things” of our grantees, partners, and leaders because we know that more needs to be done to meet the needs of students. This also means holding ourselves and our grantees accountable to setting and achieving goals and finding meaningful ways to measure success. Going forward, we’ll work with our grantees to develop ambitious milestones and metrics in order to achieve positive impact and produce positive results for our community.
2. We engage in conversations with nonprofit leaders from a place of humility: we recognize that those who are “doing the work” are closest to students and families and that we have much to learn about the needs of the communities we seek to benefit. While we don’t have the capacity to meet individually with every potential grantee, we respond to all calls and emails in a timely fashion, attend community events and coalition gatherings to hear directly from nonprofit leaders, and are committed to being transparent with organizations about what we will and won’t fund. We will always be honest with grantees and potential grantees and expect the same from them—in this way we can learn and grow together.
By providing “gen ops” funding for organizations such as EdAllies, we encourage grantees to set more ambitious goals and pursue bolder changes than they would through project-specific funding.
3. We will continue to provide grants for general operations funding as part of our Annual Grant Cycle. We trust our grantees to determine the best use of the resources we provide, and we know that unrestricted funding encourages grantees to set ambitious goals, hire requisite staff, take risks, and meet the most pressing needs of the communities they serve.
4. We are always interested in learning about, and providing financial support for, new organizations that may not currently be in our network. Our applications and RFPs are open to all, and we advertise funding opportunities broadly in order to reach the largest, most diverse pool of applicants possible. In fact, on average, over the past five years, the Foundation has provided funding to more than seven first-time grantees per year. That being said, we also seek to be realistic with applicants about the competitive nature of our application process: as part of our 2020 Annual Grant Cycle, we received 128 applications and made only 20 grants. So, while we will never close our doors off to new ideas and bold initiatives, the high number of submissions we receive leads to difficult decisions, meaning that many strong proposals are not supported by the Foundation.
We’re proud to support leaders of color such as Sondra Samuels of the Northside Achievement Zone, whose lived experiences make them uniquely positioned to positively impact our community.
5. We will continue to invest in organizations with Black, Indigenous, and people of color (BIPOC) leaders. The fact remains that across the country, nonprofit leaders of color have a harder time raising money and are often viewed less favorably during both grant applications and grant reporting. The Foundation seeks to be a leader in helping to change that. This year, for the first time, we asked grantees to self-report on the diversity of their staff, leadership teams, and boards. We are proud that the diversity of the staff of our grantees (40%) outpaces the national average for nonprofit staff (18%), and that the diversity of the leadership teams of our grantees (24%) outpaces the national average for nonprofit leadership (8%). As the Bridgespan Group writes, “Dismantling the persistent and substantial barriers leaders of color face in securing philanthropic funding is critical to achieving social change.”
Policy change is often slow and arduous, but to see the change we wish to see, we know we must continue investing in policy, advocacy, and organizing partners—such as the MN Parent Union, pictured above.
6. We seek long-term, systemic change and we know that very few big social changes happen without some form of advocacy. And while our Foundation cannot fund or engage in lobbying, if we want systemic change then we know that we must support organizations working towards improving civic and policy outcomes. In the coming years, our investments will include both grants to nonprofit advocacy, organizing, and civic engagement organizations as well as promotion of our own advocacy work, such as our recent “What’s the Plan for Us?” campaign.
7. We have significantly reduced the length and complexity of our both our application and reporting processes. Time spent applying for and reporting on grants means time not spent on programming, educating, and community-based work. Going forward, we’re planning on even further streamlining (shortening) our application process, especially for current grantees, so they can spend more time changing the world and less time on fundraising.
The above priorities stem from a spirit of continuous improvement—the Foundation’s orientation is towards how we can continue to get better. And while our commitment to working towards equal opportunities for all Minnesota children remains unchanged, we know we must always remain open to changing how we get there.