What are some effective strategies for building a philanthropy network in your region?

In Birmingham, we recently collaborated on a major national grant that brought not only funding but innovative ideas to the community. It took two years of perseverance and I would say so much of that was not just because of the shared purpose and opportunity, but of the personal relationships forged over years. We understood each other's strengths and priorities. Our trust was not built on the fly but because we got to know each other as people first and professionals second.

When we surveyed our networks, we found only 18% of people felt it was 'easy to find like-minded peers on a similar philanthropic journey', but 58% felt their approach to giving changed when they engaged with other philanthropists. It's vital to define which elements of your giving you are looking to evolve by engaging with others, and set out to find a network that supports those parts. For example, if you know your thematic focus areas, you could be seeking to learn from others who fund in those areas. Or, if you are unsure of where to start, you could be seeking to engage with a variety of people so you make more informed choices knowing all the options. You could, of course, also just be looking to feel less alone - every goal is valid!

Also identify your scope. Who are your natural partners or members? Donors? Nonprofits? Wealth firms? Community Foundations? Advisors? Community advocates?

Creating a culture of philanthropy is essential. We all know of the "BIG" philanthropists in each of our communities. But my personal philosophy is that EVERYONE can be a philanthropist. It isn't about mega gifts, it's about creating an atmosphere and a culture of doing more good. Create the opportunities to do more "good" and that can include financial gifts. But creating spaces that promotes the love of humankind is at the base of it all! And you would be surprised, the financial gifts WILL come next!

In addition to clarifying the purpose before outreach, it is critical to ensure you have clarified the investments, financial capital, space or admin support to name a few, that you can invest to support the work the network will engage in. This will enable potential network members to get a sense of the level of structure, backbone support, and stability they can expect. In addition, define the ideal profile for a network member ensuring considerations of diversity of identities that will be most critical to include in the community.

This should be the first step. Most communities have community foundations, regional networks, and niche groups that already support the landscape. Understanding what the gaps are, what the needs are will be important to your purpose. Do you want to be an alternative network, a supportive or backbone network. Doing a landscape analysis will give you the feedback you need to one create an inclusive network and two create a network the clearly define the needs and inturn your purpose.

Make sure to consider the local Giving Circle community by searching for them in the Global Giving Circle Directory on Grapevine.org. This model whereby local philanthropists come together with like-minded others in order to pool their donations and collaborate to decide what to support as a collective could also be a great model to consider when structuring your philanthropic network in the next stage.

This is the part of network-building that involves far more science than art: I recommend having a solid plan to reach out systematically to people, and keeping it human when you do get on a call with someone. In this sense, you practice your EQ when you are on those calls, but then practice your analytical skills when you plot out everything you learned to balance out the surveys, focus groups and 1:1 call learnings.

In researching phase, many interest and group gathering tools are useful. I like LinkedIn to view contacts interests & people in their network that share interest in the topics/causes. I call it building a "Cause Team," a team that wants to solve issues and get involved personally. My best tools are: going to actual interests groups, using events, & offering volunteerism, to find people with common goals. Researching various formats/platforms for interests through internet, and using target screenings by setting profile criteria for psychographic lifestyle & interest parameters that best match your network. They must be: 1) interested, 2)have capacity(time or resources) and must want to act. All three must be there to get them engaged.

Community giving days are an excellent source of insight into the local philanthropic dynamics. By seeing what causes are represented and in turn, supported, you can gain unique insight into the motivations driving your community.

In my experience, the best way to build relationships is to get involved. Volunteer for the organization through board service, show up at events to meet people with similar interests, volunteer on the event committee, take time to get involved in program-focused volunteering. Then, by giving of your time and talents, you’ll find your people and feel good about donating too.

Understand this takes time especially if the network members have had no prior connection. The key is to define the goal of relationship building which will help in determining the ideal types of activities and interactions to engage the group in. Consider starting this process to diagnose what's needed by completing activities like network mapping and having network members share information on their structured and life-based training, experience, and skills. Sharing this information across the network increases visibility for network members to also identify relationships they want to independently pursue beyond the work of the network.

Building relationships is like the most common thing mentioned but its the hardest thing to accomplish. If "relationships" was a word in a drinking game, in the nonprofit sector, we would be drunk in 5 minutes. To that end, real relationship building starts and ends with one thing. The first is the power of one-on-ones, which is a tool of community organizers. To sit in conversation and learn about the hopes, dreams and challenges of those in community with you in the minimum standard. It also allows you the ability to hold each other accountable, because you have knowledge of each other in a meaningful way.

Building professional relationships is the real work. In my experience, the most effective way to break ice is to break bread together if AT ALL possible. Develop a communication style that suits them. Remember birthdays and other special moments. Be a source of inspiration/information. Ask excellent questions. Take notes. Have fun if possible too!

Again, intermediaries can offer warm introductions that may be a faster approach. Be sure to set expectations along the way - when money is involved expectations run high so transparency is important. Setting up a new collaborative can take time and intention so your relationships need to last.

Engaging your network can look and feel complicated but in the end of the day, what engagement looks like in any relationship is the neighborly act of "sharing sugar", which is the idea that is you as a neighbor have sugar and you have a neighbor next door that needs sugar, as a neighbor you offer some of that sugar up to them. The engagement, which is wrapped in the idea of being a good neighbor, is to share what you have to help a neighbor who needs. In philanthropic engagement, the rules are similar. I am trying to learn about trust-based philanthropy, and I am someone who knows about this, it is my role to give my knowledge to someone who needs it.

During the Covid lockdown, I skydived to raise money in 2020. It was my 75th Birthday Zoom Party. I recruited four family memmbers as Teammates on Gofundme. 85 year old sister who speaks no English, a daughter who is a physician, a grandaughter who is a marketing professional, and one who was a high school junior. None of them had ever raised money. After six months into the campaign, we recruited six more high school juniors. We reached out to our networks and asked for donations. The campaign raised $1 million in 14 months! Part of the success was becuase of Covid and we were raising money for children's education. Also, a 75 year old was skydiving to celebrate his 75th birthday to raise money for children's education.

By network, I am not sure what is meant here. I would not advise this as the next step. You will need to decide what type of structure you are using from giving circle to joint venture. The structure will dictate the project.

Keep a regular cadence of engagements that always add value: be these meet-ups, annual conferences, weekly check-ins or newsletters. This is the thread that brings the heartbeat of your network to life.

D'aprés mon expérience, il est important de faire des publications tous les jours et de les partager avec la communauté philanthropique. Solliciter l'aide des gens et les inviter à communiquer avec nous. Choisir ses mots et bien clarifier ses demandes. Cela demande beaucoup de temps, de persévérance et surtout beaucoup de motivation.

Il est fréquent que les responsables d'organismes communautaires, jonglant avec plusieurs r?les, négligent l'évaluation de leur réseau de partenaires, faute de temps. Pourtant, cette évaluation est essentielle. Elle nous permet non seulement de repérer les partenaires moins impliqués, mais aussi de renforcer les liens avec ceux qui nous sont chers. En prenant le temps d'évaluer et de reconna?tre l'engagement de nos partenaires, nous consolidons les relations clés et pouvons concentrer nos ressources sur des collaborations plus significatives et fructueuses.

Before you can evaluate, a strong project manager should be hired to ensure resource allocation, project management and communication is aligned. If you are the lead, a proposed path forward will go a long way to then engaging and evaluating your network.

Before you can evaluate, a strong project manager should be hired to ensure resource allocation, project management and communication is aligned. If you are the lead, a proposed path forward will go a long way to then engaging and evaluating your network.

Evaluation is key to growth. We must plan, implement, engage, and react with action and then review. All of these steps are evaluated on the whole and individually to see what worked, what did not, and desired improvements in the process. Implementation Team and audience feedback are both essential. Before a project begins, a process to evaluate is created proactively so measurements to goals can reviewed. It also helps to set future benchmarks and realistic goal setting.

True philanthropy isn’t a singular act - it requires efficiency, research, goals, partner and client relationships, good management, etc. True philanthropy cannot dispense with any of these. However, it also about understanding that ‘it’s about the people’ and ‘fostering the dynamism of community’ for continued engagement as a marker for any level of success. We transitioned from ‘a large organization attempting to do many things’ to ‘a large federation of commercial, grassroots, and community groups focused on fostering the dynamism and interdependence of community spirit’ - which led to the spontaneous and sustained development and expansion of many diverse and curated markets, fairs, and events operating cohesively for the general good??

Bring your passion for the mission to your relationship building. One on one meetings are crucial to getting to know your supporters. Listen well. Think of your donors as the “best friends of the organization” and treat them as you treat your best friends. Ask big but be prepared to graciously accept much less. Thank often. Invite them to tour your facilities, meet the leadership, and get involved in volunteering. Bring your personal touch to the relationship. I like to help our donors meet their personal needs just as I would for any friend. Be generous with your time.

Build trust for yourself and your organization in the community in which you aim to build relationships. Do this by showing you are a part of the community- attend community events, join a community group, be able to share the impact your organization makes in that community, leverage existing relationships in the community for social proof. Individuals and organizations who have proven themselves to be truly interested in strengthening the community are more likely to be taken seriously and worth investing in. You will also naturally build enduring and deep relationships that way, which can lead to larger investments and engagement amongst leading donors in that community.

Engage an experienced facilitator to lead conversations and maximize engagement. If the facilitator is not part of the group ensure they have experience in the field of philanthropy-ideally on both the giving and funding recipient side. Also, consider engaging the facilitator early in the process to help inform the structure of interactions as well as the plan for the network's work overall.