Over the last 25 years, the GEO community has led the field of philanthropy in exploring effective grantmaking. While our collective understanding of what “effective” means is always evolving, so are the ways that we help transform philanthropic culture and practice. The GEO staff and board updated our mission and vision statements in 2020, placing thriving nonprofits and communities at the center for our work. As we celebrate our 25th anniversary in 2023, we are embarking on new efforts to develop a multi-year strategic direction that will help translate our mission and vision into our day-to-day practice, leveraging the contributions made by the GEO community to inform the change that we’re all trying to see.

While strategies can look different for different organizations, GEO’s strategy work will consistent of:

  • Multi-year strategic direction that articulates our program goals and action plans over the next few years;
  • Organizational values that align with our mission and vision, and reflect how we can aspire to show up in our work, both internally and externally;
  • Business model that helps us align our revenue and expenses in service of our strategy; and an
  • Impact model that further clarifies the change we’re seeking to create in our sector and how we will help facilitate that change.

This year, GEO is celebrating its 25th anniversary by exploring what effective grantmaking practice looks like in service of nonprofits and communities. For grantmakers concerned with being effective in our work, strategic planning offers us an opportunity to get on the balcony and reflect on our purpose as an organization and field, our place within a broader social change ecosystem, ground our evaluation and learning and determine the path forward that will lead to the greatest impact.

Read the full article about organizational strategy by Kyle Rinne-Meyers at Grantmakers for Effective Organizations.