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Five Tips for Building Relationships That Lead to Learning

Johnson Center for Philanthropy Sep 2, 2019
This article is deemed a must-read by one or more of our expert collaborators.
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5 Tips for Building Relationships That Lead to Learning
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Giving Compass’ Take:

• Ben Liadsky and Andrew Taylor give five key tips for grantmakers to cultivate strong learning relationships in philanthropy and grant applicants. 

• Communities are dynamic, evolving, multi-layered networks, fueled by people and relationships as well as ideas and evidence. How can philanthropists use these tips the best way possible?

• Learn about the benefits of collaborative philanthropy. 


Leonardo DaVinci once said that the greatest deceptions we suffer arise from our own opinions. In grantmaking, as in life, we learn best when we engage with others who have different points of view and challenge our preconceptions.

Through our research on this issue, we have come to the conclusion that evaluation is much more likely to lead to learning if grantmakers work to cultivate strong learning relationships with grant applicants before they begin talking about what will be measured. We’ve identified five key tips for grantmakers to make this happen:

  1. Start early.
  2. Get good at learning.
  3. Understand organizational culture.
  4. Set and communicate learning goals.
  5. Ask different types of questions.

Start early. One of the best ways to cultivate partnerships that promote learning is to seek out new partners that have the potential to help us learn. In traditional granting processes, discussions about learning are not raised until quite late in the process. They might only show up as one question among many in a report somewhere along the way.

Read the full article about learning in philanthropy by Ben Liadsky and Andrew Taylor at Johnson Center for Philanthropy.

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Interested in learning more about Philanthropy? Other readers at Giving Compass found the following articles helpful for impact giving related to Philanthropy.

  • This article is deemed a must-read by one or more of our expert collaborators.
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    Questions to Ask When Giving Strategically

    Giving Compass' Take: • In this Livemint post, Dasra cofounder Deval Sanghavi discusses challenges in the Indian social sector and how thoughtful questions can help guide givers in a more strategic direction. • This approach certainly can work in the U.S. and other countries as well. Seeking out ways to measure progress and getting the right people onboard in our missions are universally good ideas. • Here's more about Indian nonprofits and scaling social change. The seriousness, scale and complexity of India’s development challenges — from rising inequality to extreme poverty and climate change — are quickly outpacing the ability of our government to single-handedly address them. As an increasing amount of philanthropic capital is directed towards India’s development, there is a need for philanthropists to seek expert guidance that helps them navigate such questions and build an effective plan for their philanthropy: “Why are you giving?” “What do you want to achieve?” “How do you think change will happen?” “How will you assess progress?” “Who will join you?” With the increasing availability of tools and the rising number of philanthropy advisers across the country, it is up to each and every philanthropist to do their part in leveraging these resources and ensuring that their giving is conducted with utmost thought and planning in a way that helps create sustainable impact at scale. Read the full article about the roadmap to strategic giving by Deval Sanghavi on Livemint.


Looking for a way to get involved?

Learning with others and benchmarking are key steps towards becoming an impact giver. If you are interested in giving with impact for Philanthropy, take a look at these events, galas, conferences and volunteering opportunities to connect with individuals like you.

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