Insights for Change

A blog featuring news, updates, case studies, and opinion pieces highlighting how philanthropy and nonprofits advance impact and equity by listening to the people at the heart of their work.

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Category: Case Study

Strengthening Rural Communities Through Listening
preschool children sit on a gum mat in a classroom with confetti flying down
Community Listening and Reimagining Strategy at Deaconess Foundation
  • Deaconess Foundation
Community members participate in the North Central Plan People’s Assembly, an event at Deaconess Center that exemplifies the Deaconess Foundation’s commitment to community listening.
Community Consultants Bring New Voices to a Funder’s Decision Making
  • GreenLight Fund Kansas City
a small group of women huddle at a community meeting in front of a board with sticky-note ideas
Meeting the Moment: A Focus on Power Positions a Funder to Listen and Respond
How Participatory Grantmaking Supports a Community-Driven Vision of Safety
  • Borealis Philanthropy
Four men standing in front of photos of their children lost to violence, including by the police
Listening Beyond Grantmaking: A Local Foundation Hears a Call to Run a Preschool Program
former NFL football player reads to a group of young children in a Head Start reading program
How Community Lessons Are Shaping a Statewide Funder’s 50-Year Vision
  • Inatai Foundation
Community leaders in Washington State sitting around a table in a conference room, raising their hands in joy or exclamation
At Missouri Foundation for Health, Community Liaisons Listen and Build Connections
Video about Missouri Foundation For Health
Grantmaking as Bumper Bowling: A Community Foundation’s Journey towards Shifting and Sharing Power
  • Omaha Community Foundation
two women preparing food in a commercial kitchen
Annual Statewide Survey Sets the Stage for a Funder’s Deeper Listening
two people use markers to color on a poster hanging on a wall
Representing Brooklyn from the Ground Up
  • Brooklyn Org
Dr. Jocelynne Rainey (lower left), president and CEO of Brooklyn Org, participates in a Listening Tour session in Fort Greene, Brooklyn.
Brooklyn Org Listens Neighborhood to Neighborhood
Brooklyn Org Listens Neighborhood to Neighborhood Video
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