As social change organizations endure curveballs that up-end their work, many don’t pay enough attention to “process knowledge”: conserving organizational knowledge of how results actually get achieved. “Process knowledge” is understanding beyond the instruction manual. It is the combination of the written text and the “sub-text” of environmental factors, past experiences, and knowing-who-to-call-at-8pm to get …
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Autumn has tightened its chilly grip, and that means one thing – the US Supreme Court is back in session. In 2025-2026 the US Supreme Court will consider the Trump administration’s attempted evisceration of birthright citizenship, a challenge to a majority-Black Louisiana Congressional district, and whether a Colorado law barring “conversion therapy” violates the First …
As 2025 unfolds, more social change philanthropies are providing “flexible funding” or “rapid response” grants to help grantees address chaotic times. Flexible funding / rapid response is a lifeline for many nonprofits and the communities they serve. It also provides valuable lessons about community needs and effective responses that philanthropies, advocates, and organizers can use …
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Fine Gauge Strategy drafts case statements for advocacy organizations, campaigns, and coalitions. Here’s a few groups whose challenges we’ve helped address in recent years: We’ve learned a great deal from these clients about creating a case statement that helps funders and supporters connect the prospective grantee’s mission and goals with theirs. This month, we’ve put …
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In Summary: Funder collaboratives are often valuable to member philanthropies in navigating turbulent political and policy periods. When considering joining a collaborative, here are three categories of questions to keep in mind:How will the collaborative keep me up-to-date on fast-changing developments and their implications for my work? Does the collaborative support new / emerging organizations …
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Monster green anteater movie trailers can improve your concept paper. Not immediately finding this obvious? Nuclear powers now square off over Twitter, and jumbotrons post marriage offers. In times like these, it seems logical to borrow magic from a medium that attracts millions of eyeballs. Grab that $8.00 bucket of popcorn and read on.
