A Report on Foundations That Support Leadership Development

Investing in Leadership: Inspiration and Ideas From Philanthropy’s Latest Frontier, Volume 2
by Kathleen P. Enright

This report compares grant makers’ efforts to encourage and train nonprofit leaders, and the measurable results of the leadership-development programs they have financed.

Commissioned by the Evelyn and Walter Haas Jr. Fund and the Eugene and Agnes E. Meyer Foundation, the report presents case studies of 40 foundation programs that support the management of nonprofit organizations, and reviews the lessons they have taught.

Among the successful practices: generous and long-term support of the most promising emerging leaders; a focus on developing all the top leaders at a charity rather than just the executive director; and flexible, customized support to leaders and organizations.

Soliciting feedback from grant recipients helped some grant makers to reshape programs so that they better suited their grantees.

“We have learned that a one-size-fits-all approach to leadership development has limited value,” writes Sylvia M. Yee, vice president of programs at the Haas Fund, in her introduction to the report.

This second edition builds on the first by reviewing the challenges of bringing leadership theories and research into real-world practice. Each case study outlines the name and scope of the grant-making program, how much money has been dedicated to the effort, groups that have participated, and eligibility requirements for grant applicants.

Publisher: Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, 1413 K Street, N.W., Second Floor, Washington, D.C. 20005; (202) 898-1840; fax (202) 898-0318; http://www.geofunders.org; 55 pages; available free for download on the organization’s Web site.