article thumbnail

An Evolution of Evaluation in Grantmaking With a Participatory Lens

sgEngage

All too frequently, the grantmaker alone is determining, leading, and benefiting from MEL processes with no input or collaboration from the people, organizations or community impacted. A Shared and Flexible Understanding of Impact As practitioners of and advocates for participatory philanthropy, we believe there’s a better way.

article thumbnail

Grantmaking: What’s Participation Got to Do with It?

sgEngage

Lots of grantmakers are intrigued by participatory grantmaking. Participatory grantmaking invites to decision-making tables people who have historically been excluded. Why Would a Grantmaker Choose a Participatory Grantmaking Approach? So, what does participatory grantmaking look like in practice? Those at the top decide.

professionals

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

The community approach to problem solving

Candid

Participatory grantmaking [i] is no longer new. To be clear, participatory grantmaking has never been new. The COVID-19 pandemic and the movement for racial justice have also held a mirror up to the sector’s practices, while shining a light on the resiliency, strength, and wisdom of those with lived experience. .

Problem 119
article thumbnail

Designing for Nonprofits: Our Commentary + Experience

Media Cause

We develop our skills by seeking, absorbing, questioning, adapting, and experimenting, oftentimes bringing diverse influences together to create something that’s unique for our clients’ needs, but with connections to other relevant spaces. In a strange way, reading this article was a validating experience for many of us.

Design 52
article thumbnail

Prioritizing authentic connections through trust-based philanthropy 

Candid

To make the process transparent and participatory, we also asked other values-aligned organizations for feedback on our initial framework before putting it into action. By collaborating on what we measure, we make sure that the information helps all stakeholders and tells the story of both expected and emergent impacts.

article thumbnail

4 Ways Funders Can Help Grant Writers Submit a Great Application

sgEngage

Allow Space for Collaboration on the Application Grant writers rarely work in a vacuum. Even if your organization isn’t ready for a full participatory approach to your grantmaking, for example, understand the core tenets so you can address questions and get feedback from grantees.

article thumbnail

Guest Post by Nina Simon -- Self-Expression is Overrated: Better Constraints Make Better Participatory Experiences

Beth's Blog: How Nonprofits Can Use Social Media

When I talk about designing participatory experiences, I often show the above graphic from Forrester Research. Museums see open-ended self-expression as the be-all of participatory experiences. You get to contribute to a collaborative project that produces something beautiful. This is a problem for two reasons.