Thank you to Blackbaud for inviting Knowledge Designs to Change to share emerging insights and innovations for grantmakers involved in knowledge building for social change.
To learn more about current opportunities for maximizing your knowledge approach, click here.
Philanthropy loves “new” things. Today, knowledge work is coming into fashion in foundations and the nonprofit sector. But it is not just a new buzzword, a box to be checked, or even a singular phase in the grant cycle. Knowledge work is growing because it sits at an important intersection between grantmaking and equitable change.
How the sector understands and engages in knowledge work is crucial to the success of philanthropic efforts. Whether you are working within a funding organization or on the ground in social change, developing an effective knowledge practice will help to advance strategic missions and goals.
Grantmaking takes place in an increasingly complex world, and we are inundated with more information and new approaches to philanthropic strategy. Amidst the complexity and strategy buzz, grants professionals need to make the best use of our knowledge work to support the most effective decision making possible for the most equitable change possible.
Explore the importance of knowledge work and shared meaning making for grantmakers, including:
How to introduce an equity focus through knowledge work
How knowledge work can encourage exploration and creativity in your grantmaking approach
Why knowledge work can be the steadying force when testing a new grant strategy
To read the session handout about sharing insights, click here.
To view the bbcon 2025 Presentation Slides, click here.
There has never been a more important time for small and mid-sized foundations to engage in research activities. In this webinar Dr. Angela Frusciante, a philanthropic knowledge strategist and independent scholar, uncovers the research value that lies hidden in your grantmaking practices.
In this session, we explore methods that are rigorous, action focused and intimately aligned with the work and missions at the core of grantmaking. We remove the jargon and use real world examples from inside philanthropy that can lead to more effective internal data processes, greater grantee engagement and capacity building, and stronger network partnerships for change.
Now is an important time for small and mid-sized foundations to engage in research activities. Institutional foundations are fighting to preserve “big” data, medical research, academic structures, and fill in some of the gaping holes caused by government realignment. Lean funders are aptly positioned to lead through these challenging times because they have strong connections to their community and have the flexibility to adapt to changing needs.
Now is the time for small and mid-sized foundations to embrace research activities. You’re deeply connected to your community’s needs, and your flexibility allows you to adapt quickly to change. Research can help you understand these shifts, but starting a project might feel overwhelming.
Knowledge work in philanthropy is a big umbrella, expanding exponentially over the last decade to cover more of what grants professionals do on a regular basis. Many in philanthropy now have titles or job descriptions that include creative words like knowledge insights, grants and learning, information systems, data discovery, or relational analysis.
In grantmaking, one word makes more eyes glaze over than any other – data. Those who find it fun are called nerds. And for everyone else, it can bring up feelings of boredom, overwhelm, and confusion. In philanthropy, there can also be worries of time commitment, grantee burden, complicated methods and, frankly, resources circling the drain without adding any function or value.
With one shift in our understanding about data, we can reclaim a sense of wonder, creative agency, and value in our data work: Recognizing that information does not equal data and data does not equal knowledge.
I truly believe that I can do more and do it better if I have the “right” tech solution. However, more often, I find myself struggling with a product that is misaligned for my desires and idealism. I have been brought to tears trying to figure out what was wrong with me and why I couldn’t “get it”—a software program, an app, a data platform—or couldn’t get it to do what I needed it to do.
Alchemy, once used to refer to magic and precious metals, denotes the power to change what is around us into something even more valuable. When we understand our knowledge practice as shared meaning making, we can do just that as grants professionals.
