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2012 National Conference

March 12–14, 2012

Seattle, WA

B2: Supporting Grantee Financial Sustainability and Growth

Tuesday, March 13, 2012 at 10:15 AM–11:45 AM PDT
Cascade AB (Mezzanine Level)
Session Designer

Liz London, The Bridgespan Group

Session Description

Despite the aspirations many grantmakers have of doing “big” things with their grants, in reality their dollars occupy a small share of the funds behind the largest nonprofit success stories. One of the most common and important challenges we encounter is how to have a lasting positive effect on grantees’ financial sustainability and growth despite the time-delimited nature of our direct support. Far too often, grantees exit a grantmaker’s portfolio in the same or worse financial shape as when they entered it. To get the most bang for our buck, foundations need to take grantees’ funding pursuits as seriously as their programmatic pursuits. This session will offer participants concrete guidance on how they can better support the financial sustainability of their grantees and amplify the impact of their investments during the grant period as well as in the years that follow.

Conference Theme

Supporting Effectiveness

Speakers

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Susan Wolf Ditkoff, The Bridgespan Group
Title

Partner

Speaker Biography

Susan Wolf Ditkoff is a partner at The Bridgespan Group. In addition to advising individuals and foundations on effective philanthropy, Ditkoff has co-authored “When You’ve Made Enough to Make a Difference” and "Galvanizing Philanthropy", articles in the Harvard Business Review. She writes a Philanthropy blog, "GiveSmart.org" and has co-authored numerous Op-Eds and case studies.

Ditkoff is a graduate of Yale College and Harvard Business School. She serves on the Harvard Business School Alumni Board of Directors and is an elected official of the Brookline, MA school board. Previously, she helped start a $500-million subsidiary of Merck & Co., worked in for-profit consulting for financial institutions and nonprofit consulting in microfinance with McKinsey.

[photo]
Peter Kim, The Bridgespan Group
Title

Manager

Speaker Biography

Peter Kim is a manger in Bridgespan’s New York office. He has worked with leading nonprofit organizations and philanthropic funders on a wide range of issues including growth planning, funding strategies, organizational effectiveness, and program alignment. Kim also guides much of the firm's research on issues related to nonprofit funding, writing and speaking nationally. He is the co-author of "Ten Nonprofit Funding Models" and “Finding Your Funding Model”, articles in the Stanford Innovation Review, as well as the companion how-to guide, “Finding Your Funding Model: A Practical Approach to Nonprofit Sustainability”.

Session Materials

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