What would it look like for philanthropy to better center people and communities? For foundations and nonprofits to listen intentionally and shift power to advance equity?
Grounded in the belief that greater impact is possible if foundations and nonprofits listen to the people they seek to help, act on what they heard, and openly share what they learn, Fund for Shared Insight set out to change the field of philanthropy in some big ways.
From its launch in 2014 to its planned sunset in 2026, Shared Insight invested $78 million in this work. ORS Impact, our evaluation and learning partner since the collaborative began, takes stock of how Shared Insight’s strategies evolved over the 10-year period between 2014 and 2024, what those strategies achieved, and how they contributed to shifts across philanthropy and the nonprofit sector.
The evaluation assesses Shared Insight’s progress against five key outcomes from its theory of change, alongside sector-level changes in norms and practices. The findings are honest and mixed. Shared Insight made strong progress in strengthening the nonprofit feedback field, building a well-recognized knowledge base for the sector, and supporting nonprofits to listen and respond to the people they serve. Progress was more limited in cultivating champions and supporters of funder listening, and weaker still in shifting funder practice itself. As ORS notes, direct engagement with funders did not result in widespread changes, even among the most engaged foundations.
Listen to Community, an initiative launched in late 2025 by Shared Insight and six philanthropy infrastructure partners, is focused on funder practice change. Listen to Community has not yet reported results, and the timeframe falls outside the window of this evaluation.
Shared Insight concludes its work in June 2026 at what ORS describes as a tumultuous time in the United States, when engaging with community may matter more than ever. The full evaluation explores these findings in depth, identifies opportunities that remain, and offers observations about a decade of work.
Five key outcomes assessed in the evaluation:
- A robust, sustainable field (strong): The nonprofit feedback field strengthened and further matured.
- More active champions and supporters (mixed): Philanthropy infrastructure organizations are in greater alignment, with less progress identifying other champions.
- High-quality resources and examples to support change (strong): Shared Insight built a well-recognized, highly utilized knowledge base that serves as a resource for field actors.
- More leaders and staff in nonprofits listen, respond, and shift power (strong): Listen4Good (L4G) successfully supported growing numbers of nonprofits, with increased demand signaling broader sector efforts to listen.
- More leaders and staff in foundations listen, respond, and shift power (weak): There have been shifts in values and understanding, but changes in actual funder practice have been limited and inconsistent.
