Effective Communities Project

Effective Communities Project

Steven E. Mayer, Ph.D.

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Homesystem change

system change

Evaluating philanthropy
PROGRAM EVALUATION

Wanted: Better Evaluation Practices for a Better Philanthropy

January 16, 2021 Steve Mayer

Philanthropy by definition is a noble endeavor. Yet people want to know, “what good does philanthropy do?” The answer is hard to get, partly because philanthropy doesn’t really want to know, and evaluation doesn’t really know how to serve up good answers. This article illuminates the dilemma. […]

SOCIAL JUSTICE

Education Works Only When Justice and Economics Work

June 25, 2020 Steve Mayer

Doubling down on Education has long been a favorite policy option when unrest brews and the people in charge realize there’s trouble ahead. “Something must be done.” Education is the time-honored ticket to the comfort […]

Long term solutions
EFFECTIVE PHILANTHROPY

Foundations Should Support Solutions, Not Put Up Barriers To Progress

June 7, 2020 Steve Mayer

“Barriers to progress?  Foundations should support solutions, not put up barriers to progress.  Even foundations who claim to be in the business of tackling big systemic problems insist on funding short-term projects with easily countable […]

Community Development and System Change After a Crisis
COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

After a Crisis: Opportunities for Community Development and System Change

June 6, 2020 Steve Mayer

As we said after Katrina, foundations have many useful assets – purchasing power, influence and leadership, knowledge of communities, and development know-how – all of which can be used creatively to aid a more equitable reconstruction of Gulf Coast communities wrecked by Hurricanes Harvey and Irma. […]

COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT

The Assets Model of Community Development

October 9, 2018 Steve Mayer

The “assets model of community development,” as distinct from the “deficits model,” has really caught on in philanthropy in the last 30 years.  Articulated first by John McKnight at the Asset-Based Community Development Institute, the […]

No Picture
PROGRAM EVALUATION

Every Measure of Success Serves Someone’s Vision of Success

March 25, 2011 Steve Mayer

In “Making a Difference #3” we talked about a charitable organization with a straightforward mission, “serving those most in need.”  The organization then uses what seems to be a straightforward measure of success,  “pounds of […]

Recent Articles

  • The Choices We Make As Evaluators: You Gotta Serve Somebody
    February 12, 2021
  • Wanted: Better Evaluation Practices for a Better Philanthropy
    January 16, 2021
  • Pathways to Progress: Focusing Philanthropy on Racial Equity and Social Justice
    January 16, 2021
  • A “Dignity Gap”
    January 15, 2021
  • How to Assist Disadvantaged Groups
    December 14, 2020
  • Use Advocacy To Promote Social Change
    November 18, 2020
  • Indicators of Freedom From The Film, “12 Years a Slave”
    November 12, 2020
  • Institutional Racism: It’s Hard To See Racism When You’re White
    November 11, 2020
  • Evidence of Success: Follow the Action
    November 11, 2020
  • Can Philanthropy Create Greater Racial Equity and Social Justice?
    November 10, 2020

Tags

ACTIVISM advocacy Appreciative inquiry CAPACITY BUILDING Central and Eastern Europe COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Community Foundations community philanthropy dignity disparities Effective Communities Project Effective philanthropy equity EVALUATION Evidence of progress Evidence of success fair housing Ford Foundation foundations GRANTMAKING hunger institutional racism Jim Crow Justice Just Philanthropy measurement metrics metrics in philanthropy Neighborhood organizations Nonprofit development NONPROFIT MANAGEMENT nonprofits Organizational capacity Pathways to Progress philanthropic effectiveness PHILANTHROPY program evaluation progress racial equity social change SOCIAL JUSTICE system change Systems change Twin Cities venture philanthropy
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Recent Post
  • The Choices We Make As Evaluators: You Gotta Serve Somebody
  • Wanted: Better Evaluation Practices for a Better Philanthropy
  • Pathways to Progress: Focusing Philanthropy on Racial Equity and Social Justice
  • A “Dignity Gap”
  • How to Assist Disadvantaged Groups
Tags
ACTIVISM advocacy Appreciative inquiry CAPACITY BUILDING Central and Eastern Europe COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT Community Foundations community philanthropy dignity disparities Effective Communities Project Effective philanthropy equity EVALUATION Evidence of progress Evidence of success fair housing Ford Foundation foundations GRANTMAKING hunger institutional racism Jim Crow Justice Just Philanthropy measurement metrics metrics in philanthropy Neighborhood organizations Nonprofit development NONPROFIT MANAGEMENT nonprofits Organizational capacity Pathways to Progress philanthropic effectiveness PHILANTHROPY program evaluation progress racial equity social change SOCIAL JUSTICE system change Systems change Twin Cities venture philanthropy
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