Civic reflection gives philanthropic leaders an opportunity to explore fundamental questions about giving, clarify their beliefs and values, and strengthen their commitment for the work ahead. Whether a grantmaking organization, foundation staff, or board of directors, many groups have found civic reflection to deepen the meaning of their strategic work including, but not limited to, business planning, impact evaluation, succession planning, and guideline revision.
CIVIC REFLECTION AND PHILANTHROPY
Benefits:
Strengthened relationships with colleagues and commitment to giving
Increased imagination and creativity in facing tough organizational questions – ie to whom, and how much, to give?
A tool for more thoughtful, productive strategic planning or donor advisement
View impact case studies that detail CCR's work with foundations and philanthropic groups.
What People Are Saying
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The act of reflecting in and with a community of peers is one of the most important acts that grantmakers can take to inform our work and worth, and yet it is the one responsibility that we fall short on many times.
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--Grantmaker, Donors Forum
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We are a new foundation trying to find our way of operating. Today made our ideas seem workable.
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--Dialogue Participant
Association of Small Foundations
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One timely contribution foundations as well as individual donors can make... is to promote civic engagement and encourage public moral discourse, by cultivating hospitable spaces for reflection and by bringing diverse people and perspectives into conversation. Rather than trying to force a specific vision of the future (which could turn out to be an unexamined extension of the past), we can create the conditions for conversation, in the hope that new vision and fresh action will eventually emerge.
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--Elizabeth Lynn and Susan Wisely, "Four Traditions of Philanthropy"
