When it comes to soliciting feedback from grantees, the Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund in San Francisco walks the talk. Thoughtfulness, candor, feedback from grantees, and constant improvement are an integral part of how I’ve seen the Fund do its work.
Recently, we were interviewing staff from Haas, Jr. for a new CEP case study on understanding the field – the Fund is an exemplar in gathering and sharing expertise in its fields of work. One staff member we spoke with was Linda Wood, senior director, leadership and grantmaking.
Knowing how important good leadership is for its own success, the Fund has established a program area that provides access to leadership development for nonprofits. In the course of our conversation about her work in that area, Linda mentioned videos of grantees describing their leadership coaching experience that the Haas, Jr. Fund has posted on its website. People reacted with surprise, Linda said, at how openly the folks in these videos share what that coaching has been like for them.
Because honesty and transparency are also CEP’s watchwords, we were delighted when Linda offered to share her thoughts about these videos in a blog post. We hope you will join the conversation as she ponders, “What would it take for truth telling and candor to catch on in philanthropy?”
Kevin Bolduc is Vice President, Assessment Tools at CEP.
