Strengths-based working: using all your assets to effect
Most foundations see grant-making as their primary tool for creating change. Yet in today's complex world, this traditional approach may be leaving valuable opportunities on the table.
Think of your foundation as more than just a funding source for grantees. You have relationships that can convene powerful conversations. Your physical assets can transform communities. Your team's expertise can offer valuable insights, influence public policy, spark innovative solutions. Your investment portfolio can drive positive change. These assets, when wielded thoughtfully, can multiply your foundation's impact many times over.
This isn't about diminishing the importance of grant-making. Rather, it's about recognizing that your foundation's potential for creating positive change extends far beyond your grant portfolio. By taking a holistic view of your assets and capabilities, you can unlock new possibilities for impact that you might never have imagined.
What assets are at your disposal?
The journey to greater impact often begins inside your organisation, when foundations break down internal silos and encourage cross-team collaboration. Teams start seeing challenges from fresh angles. Solutions become more innovative. The full spectrum of possibilities opens up, leading to more holistic approaches to complex problems.
Consider how foundations are transforming their approach to land and property management. Rather than limiting themselves to basic conservation, forward-thinking organizations are becoming ethical landlords, expanding community access to green spaces, and driving biodiversity initiatives. Some are exploring community ownership models that put power back in local hands.
The conversation around endowment management is evolving too. The assumption that market investments are the only path to financial sustainability deserves challenge. Progressive foundations are exploring how their investments can align with their mission while maintaining financial returns. These conversations, when brought to senior management teams and boards, often catalyst fundamental shifts in operational models.
Perhaps one of the most overlooked assets is a foundation's convening power. Your relationships and reputation can bring diverse stakeholders together, creating spaces for crucial conversations and collective action. When foundations leverage this power thoughtfully, they can amplify grassroots voices, foster learning communities among grantees, and build powerful partnerships with other funders.
A new way of thinking
Making this shift requires a new way of thinking about your organisation's assets and capabilities. It means questioning long-held assumptions about how change happens. It means seeing your foundation not just as a grant-maker, but as a catalyst for systemic change.
The future of philanthropic impact might well be in orchestrating all of your foundation's assets in harmony toward your mission. The question isn't whether your grants are making an impact – it's whether you're using everything at your disposal to create the change you want to see in the world.
We love to help organisations focus on how they might make most impact. Get in touch with our team to start your journey.