Giving Compass' Take:

• In this Feedback Labs post, the Siegel Family Endowment describes their relationship-driven grantmaking approach and how thinking about different ways to engage with constituents can improve the process.

• In particular, the question of whether feedback should be anonymous or a more open dialogue became a crucial one. How might other organizations answer?

• Here's why the fundamentals of feedback starts with buy-in.

The Siegel Family Endowment (SFE) has a relationship-driven approach to grantmaking. They commit to collaboration with their grantees: beginning each grant cycle co-creating an engagement process, writing the proposal with Program Officers, and facilitating three touch points for relationship feedback throughout the grant period. But even with established trust and the anonymity of feedback forms, The Siegel Family Endowment felt like they only began to scratch the surface.

Seeing feedback as a building block to meaningful, long-term relationships, SFE is committed to finding a feedback process that makes sense to them and their grantees. Already deeply invested in relationship building, LabStorm attendees encouraged the Endowment to think of their feedback mechanism as a brand exercise:

  • Have a feedback style that complements your grantmaking style.
  • Determine if dialogue is more important than anonymity.
  • Report out.

Read the full article about relationship-based feedback by Siegel Family Endowment at Feedback Labs.