Nick Martin

Do you require these outcomes for your educational program in Sub-saharan Africa or Latam? If so, keep reading as there is still time to apply for the LEAP Challenge by the MIT Solve and the Jacobs Foundation. In addition to the program's benefits (see my previous related post), each project host in the LEAP Challenge produces practical results. Here you have some outcomes from 2023: ✅ Aflatoun International - Literature review and research feasibility to conduct RCTs ✅ Dignitas Dignitas - Literature review and learning briefs on neurodivergent children. ✅ Kenya Connect - Evaluation plan, research design, and fundraising strategy for their programs. ✅ Luminos Fund - Guidelines for developing effective assessment strategies and suggestions for program implementation and research. Sound like something you need? Take your time this weekend and finish your application. Deadline: April 30th ⚠️ You can access the reports of the 10 finalists of the 2023 cohort in the link below. I invite some of my colleagues from the previous cohort to encourage people to apply (even LEAP Fellows); just leave a message in the comments, or like and share this post: Teach the World Foundation Thinkerbell Labs Click Learning Seenaryo Blue Butterfly Sabrina Nagel Oluwakemi Olurinola. Ph.D Andrew Armstrong Kaja Haider Ali Shishmahal Sharon Runge Ellie Moriearty Samantha Alper Rachel Landers #education #sdg4 #children

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At the 2024 African Philanthropy Forum conference, leaders gathered around a powerful theme: "A New Agenda for African Philanthropy—Catalyzing Funding to Accelerate Africa's Transformation." This vision is all about reshaping philanthropy in Africa to be agile, collaborative, and impactful. In a recent article on communal giving, I explore how African philanthropy has always been rooted in shared responsibility and local knowledge. This tradition of giving passed down through generations, is uniquely positioned to drive the continent's transformation. The APF conference sessions echoed this, spotlighting trust-based philanthropy to empower communities, strategic alignment with government to amplify impact, and global insights to spark sustainable transformation across sectors. This convergence of ideas underscores the value of locally-driven philanthropy, especially when communities themselves are empowered to lead the charge. When we invest in our own communities, directing resources to where they’re needed most, we accelerate change that resonates and endures. Read more from the article to explore how communal giving lays a strong foundation for this era of African philanthropy. https://lnkd.in/dZ_TRZNh #CommunalGiving #CatalyzingChange #AfricanPhilanthropy #LocalGiving #NationalDevelopment #SocialImpact

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Surgeon General Vivek Murthy talks about the need for a "whole-of-society approach" to advancing social connection. We've tried to heed that call in our work at Einhorn Collaborative, supporting a broader range of efforts that engage actors across sectors. That includes: Projects like Team Up to enlist large national civic organizations with a presence in local communities to help people build connection across difference through service. Research groups like Building H to measure the impact of products on consumers’ health and urge companies to do better to improve social connection and other health outcomes. Initiatives like Human Connections AI to bring together social connection experts with technologists to puzzle through how AI companions can be designed to enhance and not degrade human relationships. Another project that has helped us explore a facet of the whole-of-society approach is the Connective Tissue Framework, which puts forward a range of recommendations for how government – especially at the local level – can create the structural conditions and everyday opportunities for people to experience healthy connection. I've learned a lot from Sam Pressler, lead author of Connective Tissue. In this piece, I asked Sam to share more about the story behind the framework and a few highlights. https://lnkd.in/esayJU3b

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How can foundations and grantmakers be more intentional about sharing power with communities directly affected by systemic racism and health inequity? A new @RWJF case study provides a behind-the-scenes look at our $5 million participatory grantmaking initiative, Building Local Alignment. Review how we worked to cede decision making control to outside experts and what lessons have emerged for our foundation and other funders as we seek to advance equity. Check it out today! #CommunityPower #EquityInAction #ParticipatoryGrantmaking https://bit.ly/3YdySRr

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✨ Discover the Power of Storytelling for Innovation! ✨ On the first day of the Virginia Housing Alliance’s (Brian Koziol, Arley Bell) inaugural BIPOC Leadership Institute (BLI) cohort,  where I’m a co-facilitator along with Ebony Walden, we had the privilege of walking the historic streets of Jackson Ward in Richmond, VA, with a remarkable group of housing leaders (Justin Ferguson), as Gary Flowers a fifth-generation Jackson Ward resident shared powerful stories of this community, known as one of the Black Wall Streets of the South, and highlighted stories of vision, determination and resilience from leaders such as: 🌟 Maggie L. Walker: The first African American woman to charter a bank, breaking barriers and inspiring us to think beyond limitations. 🌟 William "Bojangles" Robinson: A philanthropist and entertainer who invested in the safety, education, and future of Black children, teaching us persistence in the face of challenges. 🌟 John Mitchell Jr.: The iconic editor of the Richmond Planet, using his words to inspire and influence the community towards advocacy and change. Their stories inspire and remind us of storytelling's profound impact on innovation. How can we use storytelling to inspire new ideas and grow as leaders?  Here are three ways in which I believe stories can influence innovation: 🚀 Inspiring Vision: Stories help us dream big and think creatively. 🚀 Learning from Challenges: Narratives of perseverance teach us resilience about overcoming challenges we will encounter. 🚀 Building Empathy: Shared experiences foster connection and collaboration. 🔗 Check out the full article, "A Lesson from Jackson Ward: How Our Stories Can Inspire Innovation", on Jordansydnor.com to explore how we can use storytelling to innovate and grow as leaders. Let's transform our communities by embracing the lessons from Jackson Ward. What stories from your past inspire your innovative thinking? Share in the comments below! 👇🏾 #Innovation #Leadership #Storytelling #JacksonWard #Inspiration #Community

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I highly recommend completing this course. You will gain a deeper, data-driven perspective of the entire grant life cycle.

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Does your company distribute grants? run employee engagement programs? do other social impact work? What about measuring, managing and tracking the effectiveness and impact of its CSR work? The Corporate Measurement & Evaluation Community of Practice is conducting a benchmarking survey to understand the state of M&E across the corporate landscape - who is doing it, how, why and what tools and approaches are being used. If you are directly responsible for measuring and reporting on the impact of your companies CSR work, or you have visibility into it, we'd like to hear from you! https://lnkd.in/gv9Deiwi Please note, We have taken special care in crafting the survey so that we aren’t repeating information that can be found elsewhere. This benchmarking will complement that done by ACCP and CECP.  The responses are 100% confidential and data will only be reported in aggregate.  More information on the Corporate Measurement & Evaluation (M&E) Community of Practice in comments.

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I was invited by Prof Bheki Moyo who leads the Centre on African Philanthropy and Social Investment - CAPSI to share some of my thoughts on why (South) African #philanthropy needs to mainstream #climatechange into their impact strategies, and how they can do so while deepening (rather than changing) their priorities. Our biggest climate risks are not just about the weather "out there," but about material challenges like food security, health and education outcomes, economic security and sustainability, mobility and migration, good governance and accountability...you get my point...

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My nonprofits in the community, I need you to know that data equity itself can be a powerful funding argument. We know how much funders love impact data (your to-do lists speaks volumes). Well, if you learn to articulate, reflect, and share how practicing data equity in your work doesn’t just gather numbers—it tells a story of trust, inclusion, and respect within the community – then I believe that genuinely reflects the communities we serve and that it resonates well with funders. Say, a nonprofit intentionally including community members throughout the process of final impact report for funders. The feedback here can transform the understanding of service gaps and lead to a stronger narrative in funding proposals. And this nonprofit can use this exercise to open dialogue with funders who value a community-centered approach. Writing this short post to say - treat data equity as a path to partnership, a practice that opens doors to new models of collaboration and funding – in ways that deepens our community relationships. Data equity is more than a checklist—it’s a commitment we have to collectively and continually work on. #nonprofits

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Despite the fact that collaborative funds are being talked about as the next big thing in philanthropy, there's still a lot we don't know about their value-add to philanthropy. Often the discussion centers on how they enhance the experience and impact of donors. This new piece from Jennifer Stout draws attention to the importance of examining the experiences of grantees who receive funding from collaborative funds, as compared to their experiences with "direct funders". For The Freedom Fund, our understanding of how grantee partners perceive us largely comes from continuously seeking feedback (more on that here: https://lnkd.in/eEa6u7F6). We also see a big part of our role as identifying and building relationships with groups who have tremendous potential for deep, sustainable impact but who more traditional funders might overlook. As Jen says, we need more research across the field to draw broader conclusions and make the case for why collaborative funds, when structured appropriately, can fill gaps and do things differently.

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https://lnkd.in/da7g_Cz3 The State of the African Diaspora / African Union Messages of Solidarity at Pan-African Parliament highlight Africa’s democratic progress, economic integration, and vision for inclusive development

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Where you live should not determine if you get access to healthcare. At Watsi we believe that every person deserves equal access to quality care, regardless of their location or socio-economic status. Join us in our mission to ensure health access for all. Learn more about our work and how you can get involved: https://watsi.org/ #HealthAccessForAll #EquityInHealthcare"

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🌟𝐍𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬 𝐎𝐩𝐞𝐧 𝐟𝐨𝐫 𝐭𝐡𝐞 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬🌟 We are proud to open nominations for the 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒 𝐄𝐚𝐬𝐭 𝐀𝐟𝐫𝐢𝐜𝐚 𝐏𝐡𝐢𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐡𝐫𝐨𝐩𝐲 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝𝐬 (𝐄𝐀𝐏𝐀). Since their inception in 2012, these awards have been a critical platform for recognizing the exceptional and revolutionary contributions of individuals and organizations in philanthropy across East Africa. They serve as a foundation for advocacy and action, driving strategic mobilization of domestic resources for sustainable community development. 𝐀𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐝 𝐂𝐚𝐭𝐞𝐠𝐨𝐫𝐢𝐞𝐬: This year’s awards are delineated into eight strategic categories, each designed to reflect the breadth and depth of philanthropic impact achievable through focused, localized efforts. 𝐍𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 𝐃𝐞𝐚𝐝𝐥𝐢𝐧𝐞: We extend an invite to you to submit nominations by the 𝟐𝐧𝐝 𝐨𝐟 𝐎𝐜𝐭𝐨𝐛𝐞𝐫, 𝟐𝟎𝟐𝟒. This is a unique opportunity to elevate and acknowledge the efforts of those who harness the power of philanthropy to create sustainable change. 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐭𝐨 𝐍𝐨𝐦𝐢𝐧𝐚𝐭𝐞: Visit our website or scan the QR code on our promotional materials to propose actors who exemplify leadership, innovation, and significant community impact in their philanthropic activities. 𝐋𝐢𝐧𝐤 - https://lnkd.in/djCTHYq8

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Join us on June 25 from 9:00 a.m. to 10:30 a.m. (EDT) for our webinar launch of the 2021-2022 Global Resources Report where we will share the main insights and findings, with key speakers sharing commentary. The biennial Global Resources Report: Government & Philanthropic Support for Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Transgender, and Intersex Communities is the authoritative source on global lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, and intersex (LGBTI) grantmaking and resource flows. Now in its fifth edition, the report analyzes ten years of LGBTI funding by geography, issue, strategy, population focus, type of donor, and more. This new edition, focused on grantmaking in 2021 and 2022, documents over 20,000 grants awarded by nearly 1,300 donors worldwide to over 8,000 grantees. The report is a tool for identifying trends, gaps, and opportunities in the rapidly changing landscape of LGBTI funding. https://lnkd.in/gndFEFXu

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There is something beautiful about empowering movement participants to allocate funds and design programs. Participatory Grantmaking is poised to transform our approach to funding, but it also touches on a concept we are always chasing. Time: This process is time-consuming and must be considered when pursuing true participation. We need to reassess our relationship with the concept of time in movement building, embracing slowness and accepting that for powerful ideas like Participatory Grantmaking to be effective. https://lnkd.in/g9B7GyAH

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Humble Philanthropy and Listening Leadership: Humble philanthropy acknowledges the limits of funders' knowledge and prioritizes learning from those closest to the issues. Practices: -Community feedback loops: Regularly solicit and act on feedback from beneficiaries and community members. -Reverse mentoring: Create opportunities for philanthropists to learn from grassroots leaders and youth. -Transparency and vulnerability: Share failures and lessons learned openly with the sector. -Power-aware evaluation: Consider how power dynamics affect evaluation processes and results. Example: The Whitman Institute practices "trust-based philanthropy," emphasizing multi-year unrestricted funding, transparent and responsive communication, and soliciting and acting on feedback. Reflection: How can you create more opportunities for genuine two-way dialogue in your philanthropic relationships? What practices could help you remain open to learning and course-correction? #HumblePhilanthropy #ListeningLeadership

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Collaboration among organizations is essential for creating meaningful and sustainable change in the field of mental health. By working together, organizations can leverage their collective strengths to promote mental wellness, support individuals in distress, and advocate for policies that prioritize mental health care. We hosted Girls for Girls Africa Mental Health Foundation for an insightful discussion on how best we can patner and collaborate to advance mental health. #DayoSpeaks #Collaboration #mentalhealthmatters

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