June 26, 2003 | Read Time: 1 minute
Agile Philanthropy: Understanding Foundation Effectiveness, by Joel J. Orosz, Cynthia C. Phillips, and Lisa Wyatt Knowlton, describes the growing attention researchers are devoting to determining how grant makers can better work with grantees to accomplish charitable goals. Mr. Orosz is a professor of philanthropy at the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership at Grand Valley State U., in Grand Rapids, Mich., and Ms. Phillips and Ms. Wyatt Knowlton are partners at Phillips Wyatt Knowlton, a management and evaluation consulting firm in Battle Creek, Mich. The authors write that foundations are exploring a variety of methods to evaluate and improve the quality of the relationships between grant makers and recipients, grantees’ ability to provide services, and, ultimately, the benefits of charity work to society. The report also includes contact information and brief summaries of research projects conducted by foundations, universities, and other organizations to define and promote “foundation effectiveness.”
Publisher: Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership, Grand Valley State U., 401 West Fulton Street, 288C, Grand Rapids, Mich. 48504-6431; (616) 331-7585; (616) 331-7592; http://www.gvsu.edu/philanthropy; 83 pages; $9 by mail, or free for download on the university’s Web page.
