During these challenging times, Fund for Shared Insight continues to inspire and support the work of funders and nonprofits as they listen to the people and communities they seek to help and act on what they hear. Please read the latest news:
- Shared Insight’s virtual learning series will kick off May 19 with a webinar for funders featuring content about listening previewed in this article about philanthropy’s COVID-19 pledge.
- Shared Insight is offering new grants to philanthropy support organizations to develop listening tools for funders, and it continues to invite applications for the next Listen4Good co-funded grant round.
- Shared Insight’s library of resources for organizations to learn more about how to close the feedback loop continues to grow with new blog posts and impact stories.
More details below.
Shared Insight Virtual Learning Series
Fund for Shared Insight announces the start of its virtual learning series that will run through the summer. The first webinar, geared towards funders interested in fulfilling their commitment to listening that was part of philanthropy’s COVID-19 pledge, will be held on May 19. In partnership with Grantmakers for Effective Organizations (GEO), Shared Insight will host a one-hour session, “How Listening & Feedback Can Inform Foundation Grantmaking and Strategy Development,” featuring Marcus Walton, CEO of GEO, moderating a discussion with Shared Insight co-chair Kelley Gulley of The James Irvine Foundation, LaTida Smith of the Moses Taylor Foundation, and Melissa Luna of GreenLight Fund Boston.
For more about Shared Insight’s commitment to support foundations’ feedback work during the pandemic and beyond, please see the article, “Listening in a Time of Crisis.”
Register to join the May 19 webinar
New Grant Opportunity for Philanthropy Support Organizations
Shared Insight invites philanthropy support organizations to submit letters of intent to participate in a new field-strengthening grant program. The program will support developing and disseminating toolkits and guides for funders building their feedback and listening practices with the people and communities they seek to help, especially those whose voices are least heard and those most vulnerable in the COVID-19 crisis.
With a grant budget of $1-million, Shared Insight plans to make as many as seven grants for projects up to two years long. Letters of intent may be submitted through Wednesday, May 13, 2020, at 11:59 pm ET. Full project proposals will be due by mid-June, and grant decisions will be made by August 15.
Listen4Good Co-Funded Grant Round
The next Listen4Good co-funded grant round continues with submissions due July 17, 2020. To participate, an organization must be nominated by a current funder (existing or new). Nominating funders agree to contribute $15,000, which will be matched by Shared Insight’s national funders. Participating organizations receive a $30,000 capacity-building grant to implement high-quality feedback loops with the people they serve. For more information, funders go here; nonprofits, here. Informational webinars for funders will be held on May 7 and June 18; and on May 27 and July 1 for nonprofits.
Closing the Feedback Loop: How to Just Do It
Shared Insight shares a new article by Listen4Good coach Nate Mandel, called, “Closing the Feedback Loop: How to Just Do It.” Drawing on his experiences leading the feedback efforts at a national nonprofit and working with other L4G-participating organizations, Nate offers a practical how-to on closing the feedback loop with nonprofit clients. The piece follows up on an earlier article by L4G’s Valerie Threlfall and June Wang, making the case for how critical it is for nonprofits to share back with clients what feedback they received and how they are responding to it. The posts add to a growing library of resources, including new stories about Natividad Foundation and Social Advocates for Youth that illustrate how important, productive, and creative closing the loop can be.
