Why+do+networks+matter+for+grantmakers?


 * //Why do networks matter for grantmakers?//**

A clear trend is underway in the funding community toward support for networked action, working with an increased awareness of ecosystems, and harnessing networks in programmatic and operational strategies. Foundations, like Annie E. Casey, The California Endowment, and Hawaii Community Foundation, have been experimenting with new network-based models for addressing issues ranging from vulnerable youth to public health to donor engagement. At the same time, social media tools are motivating foundations to open up to and engage broad stakeholder networks, illustrated by experiments and initiatives like Robert Wood Johnson Foundation’s Web 2.0 Philanthropy strategy, the Case Foundation’s Make it Your Own Awards, and the Packard Foundation’s Nitrogen Wiki. Networks is buzzword these days that grantmakers are attracted to for a variety of different reasons.
 * There are grantmaking entities structured as formal networks, like Social Venture Partners, Global Greengrants, and Global Fund for Children.
 * Funders are participating in increasing numbers of funder collaborative and affinity groups, such as Grantmakers for Effective Organizations, RE-AMP, and Fund for Our Economic Future – to name just a few.
 * Funders are experimenting with social media and trying to work in more networked ways, like Robert Wood Johnson’s foundation-wide initiative to become a ‘Web 2.0 Philanthropy.’
 * Funders are experimenting with social network mapping as a means of understanding the social systems they’re working in and increasing connectivity among leaders with shared interests, like Community Foundation for Monterey County’s use of social network mapping to understand and strengthen youth development networks in the city of Salinas.
 * Grantmakers are catalyzing and supporting networks to achieve programmatic goals, like the Hawaii Community Foundation’s effort to connect youth development leaders across the islands around a shared vision of better outcomes for youth in Hawaii.
 * And, some grankmakers, like the David and Lucile Packard Foundation and the Barr Foundation, are viewing networks and network effectiveness as a cross-cutting strategy critical to impact across the work of their foundations.

Funders’ embrace of networks is driven by a number of interrelated developments: .
 * Social and environmental problems are becoming increasingly large, complex, and interrelated. No single actor can move the needle alone. There is a need for a systems level view, coordination, and, at times, collaboration.
 * The traditional roles of the three sectors are blurring, resulting in a demand for more vehicles and skills for working across the sectors and issue silos.
 * Growth continues to be a severe challenge for nonprofits. Given fierce competition for resources, only a select few can significantly scale. Networks present an alternative vehicle for scaling.
 * The technological tools for communication and working with data are evolving rapidly. The constant development of web and mobile tools is increasing the ease of gathering data, sharing data, maintaining relationships, and exchanging knowledge.
 * The online and offline worlds are becoming increasingly integrated. As online engagement becomes nearly ubiquitous, the practices of place-based and online network building are merging.