Creative Disruption: Sabbaticals for Capacity Building and Leadership Development in the Nonprofit Sector

Based on a survey, examines the outcomes of sabbaticals for nonprofit leaders, their organizations, leadership transitions, and sponsoring foundations, as well as lessons learned and challenges. Includes case studies

Evaluation of Capacity Building: Lessons from the Field

When the final word is written about capacity building within the nonprofit sector in our times, what will the record show? For many practitioners, from whatever role -- consultant or technical assistance provider, grantmaker or researcher -- the most compelling test will be whether organizations and the sector as a whole have become stronger and more effective in their efforts. Will we have improved the quality of life in the communities where we work? Will we have contributed to society's willingness to embrace systems change and sustainable solutions to the issues that nonprofits now tackle year after year? We are likely also to ask what renders these accomplishments genuinely possible -- which characteristics of preparation and processes involved in capacity building, and its evaluation, are most fruitful. And finally, we will challenge ourselves to imagine alternative approaches that best draw on the insights gained.Stories from the field illustrate the reality that capacity building -- and evaluations -- necessarily involve a wide variety of circumstances, approaches and insights. Organizations that offer consulting services and those that make grants, from Florida to Hawaii and New York, have seen the importance of establishing internal evaluation practices as a way to know what works and does not work. As one foundation program director, Chris van Bergeijk of the Hawaii Community Foundation, noted, "It makes no sense to preach organizational effectiveness when we are not walking the talk ourselves." The central lesson: Evaluation of capacity building starts at home

Leadership New England: Essential Shifts for a Thriving Nonprofit Sector

The ongoing, against-the-odds resiliency of the nonprofit sector in New England and across the country is remarkable to see. But as this study shows, it is a very fragile resiliency. The sector's success and impact continue to rely on unsustainable trends, including: overworked, underpaid leaders and staff; a never-ending fight to balance budgets and build stable organizations; a lack of investment in professional and leadership development and organizational infrastructure; and a continuing struggle to work out the optimal role for nonprofit boards. Nonprofits in New England and across the nation will continue to play a vital part in building stronger communities and a more just and equitable society. But the sector's resiliency is at its outer limit.As this report sets out to show, it is time to shift how we think about nonprofits in New England and consider what supports they need to succeed. To the extent we do so, we will be able to predict with certainty that New England's nonprofits can remain resilient and effective well into the future -- and can continue to contribute to the vibrancy of our communities, our people and our region.This report profiles New England's nonprofits and their leaders and recommends three shifts in that will help the sector become more sustainable and healthy

Using Theory to Develop Healthy Choices in Motion, a Comprehensive, Experiential Physical Activity Curriculum.

Background: Research has shown that engaging in regular physical activity supports physiologic, metabolic, and immunologic processes, as well as quality of life. However, few youth in the United States meet the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services recommendation of 60 min of moderate-to-vigorous physical activity every day. School-based programs can be an effective avenue for engaging youth in physical activity, particularly when the design of the health education is based on theory, research, and practice. The purpose of this study was to design, implement, and evaluate a theory-driven physical activity curriculum for the Shaping Healthy Choices Program (SHCP) using a systematic approach. Methods: The experiential, inquiry-based physical activity curriculum, Healthy Choices in Motion (HCIM), was developed with an optional technology enhancement using Backward Design. A questionnaire to assess the curriculum's effect on physical activity knowledge was developed and assessed for content validity, internal consistency (α = 0.84), and test-retest reliability (r = 0.73). The curriculum was piloted in two phases among upper elementary-aged youth: to ensure the learning goals were met (Pilot I) and to determine the curriculum's impact on physical activity knowledge, behavior, and self-efficacy (Pilot II). Pilot II was implemented among eight 4th and 5th-grade classrooms participating in the UC CalFresh Nutrition Education Program: (1) Comparison (no intervention) (n = 25); (2) SHCP only (n = 22); (3) SHCP + HCIM (n = 42); (4) SHCP + HCIM with technology enhancement (n = 47). Analyses included unadjusted ANOVA and Bonferroni for multiple comparisons and paired t-test (p < 0.05). Results: Through the use of a methodical design approach, a comprehensive physical activity curriculum, called HCIM, was developed. Youth participating in HCIM improved physical activity knowledge compared to youth receiving no intervention (+2.8 points, p = 0.009) and youth only in the SHCP (+3.0 points, p = 0.007). Youth participating in HCIM with technology enhancement demonstrated improvements compared to youth only in the SHCP (+2.3 points, p = 0.05). Conclusion: Improvements in physical activity knowledge in youth participating in HCIM may contribute to improvements in physical activity and should be further explored in conjunction with behavioral measurements

Funding Performance: How Great Donors Invest in Grantee Success

The Funding Performance campaign encourages funders to rise to the urgency of this moment. You'll find no pie-in-the-sky theory in the resources on this page. Instead, you'll find practical advice about the specific practices that produce outsized progress on urgent issues of our time.The centerpiece of this campaign is Funding Performance: How Great Donors Invest in Grantee Success (2021), a Jim Collins–style monograph intended to generate positive peer pressure among foundations and individual donors.The monograph features insightful essays by eight highly respected thinkers and doers: Hilary Pennington, Ford Foundation; Daniel Stid, Hewlett Foundation; Sam Cobbs, Tipping Point Community; Jeff Bradach and Jeri Eckhart Queenan, Bridgespan; Lowell Weiss, Leap Ambassadors support team; Hilda Polanco and Deborah Linnell, FMA. All of these essayists have vantage points that have given them a close-up look at the best and worst practices in our sector. In Funding Performance, they share both—in the hope of turning this moment of crisis into a moment of truth and then a moment of productive pivot

From Creative Disruption to Systems Change: A 20-Year Retrospective on the Durfee Foundation Sabbatical Program

The Durfee Foundation's persistent purpose and tinkering culture—that is, its capacity for institutionalizing reflective practice and learning from doing over time—extends to its culture of sharing key lessons about its programs with peers in philanthropy. This 20-year review of the Durfee Sabbatical program explores the benefits of sabbaticals for nonprofit leaders, nonprofit stability, and nonprofit sustainability