the program pg2

Session I:
The primary purpose of Session I is to introduce principles of strategic philanthropy. In this session, we bring in experts on strategic grantmaking to analyze its component parts. We study other foundations’ strategies that are highly effective, visit different programs in the field that exemplify different tactical approaches to a given problem, and hear from other individual funders about the development of their targeted plans. At least half of this session is spent in the field with “living case studies.” Finally, we explore the assumptions that underlie our world views as a key to developing a strategy for giving.

We change the curriculum of this and other sessions from year to year to explore issues of interest to the particular class and also issues of current major significance. Examples of some of the programs during Session I have been:
• A day on climate change solution and the role of philanthropy
• A day on investing in the arts with a focus on funding “new work”
• A trip to the California’s Central Valley Region examining the regions social, economic and environmental challenges
• A day on promoting new teacher training to foster school improvement

Representatives of foundations that have come to speak are The Noyce Foundation, The Durfee Foundation, The Energy Foundation, The Joyce Foundation, The Charles & Helen Schwab Foundation, and The Aaron Diamond Foundation.

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