The Strategic Funding of Advocacy: Insights from Experts

The Strategic Funding of Advocacy: Insights from Experts

A topic that’s gaining traction among philanthropists and changemakers alike is the strategic funding of advocacy efforts, and I’m excited to have with us today two distinguished experts to discuss it. William Foster is a managing partner at the Bridgespan Group and co-author of Betting on the Tortoise: Policy Incrementalism and How Philanthropy’s Support Can Turn Small Sustained Steps into Big Impact. His research provides a deep dive into how major policy victories are often not the result of sudden leaps, but rather the culmination of strategic incremental efforts backed by steadfast philanthropic support. And joining him is Deborah Bielak, a partner in the Bridgespan San Francisco office. She is the co-author of Using All the Tools in the Toolkit: Funding Advocacy for Social Change. It highlights the diverse strategies philanthropists can employ to drive policy and political changes that resonate with their objectives.

Bridgespan’s William Foster and Darren Isom Make the Case to Endow Black-Led Nonprofits

Bridgespan’s William Foster and Darren Isom Make the Case to Endow Black-Led Nonprofits

The very first endowed chairs were established by the Roman emperor and Stoic philosopher, Marcus Aurelius, in Athens all the way back in 176 AD. He created one endowed chair for each of the major schools of philosophy.

Today, nonprofit endowments are all too rare, especially for social change organizations led by people of color, whose endowments are nearly four times smaller than those of white-led organizations. This, according to a new Bridgespan Group analysis, and here from the Bridgespan Group to discuss it with us are William Foster and Darren Isom.