Fluxx | Technology news for grantmakers

Season three of Untapped Philanthropy kicks off with new co-host, Neon One’s Director of Corporate Brand, Tim Sarrantonio, and a guest who came to philanthropy by way of technology: Michael Thatcher. 

Michael currently serves as the President and CEO of Charity Navigator, but prior to making the nonprofit jump, he spent 15 years at Microsoft in a number of roles, eventually becoming CTO for public sector accounts in Africa, the Middle East, and Greater Asia. Much of his work grappled with social and economic change imperatives and explored how regions could use technology as a lever for change. He often worked with the local nonprofits and NGOs and therefore was acutely aware of data that was (or wasn’t) leveraged within these teams.

Together Michael, Fluxx CDO and co-founder, Kerrin Mitchell, and Tim, kick off season three by delving into the Philanthropy Data Commons, how nonprofits can leverage their Charity Navigator rating to be more discoverable for donors, and explore what data means to both sides of the giving coin. 

We know that Grants Management Systems (GMS) help grantmakers accelerate their impact, improve relationships with grantees, and unlock the power of data for reporting and decision making.

We also know that many organizations are stuck in outdated systems—or are manually tracking everything through an ad hoc process using email and spreadsheets—which means that too many grants professionals are spending countless hours tracking down information, searching through disparate documents, and manually moving the work forward.

To help Grants Administrators and Grants Managers advocate for new technology, we teamed up with our friends at Grantbook to build a simple guide.

Summary:  

Have you recently wondered how to scale to support a new infusion of funding? Started issuing new types of grants or investments? Onboarding more people or new departments to collaborate on your grantmaking process? 

Philanthropy is chalked full of legacy institutions, historic processes, and more than its fair share of bureaucracy. So it’s no surprise that the industry as a whole is considered to be a slow adopter of technology, even though improved SaaS processes are known to lead to sector growth. In fairness, the slow adoption often isn’t due to the lack of interest, but rather a lack of funds. A nonprofit attempting to operate under an unrealistic overhead ratio isn’t going to push for expensive new products and platforms, and neither will smaller funders.

But this isn’t the case for industry giant, the MacArthur Foundation. The innovative Chicago funder and Fluxx client we know and love has spent years carving space for technologists to have a seat at the table so the Fund could in turn work as a collective to answer questions including: how can we improve the grantee process for all? How can we save our team time? And how can we leverage technology to solve the problems faced by our communities?

All of the above questions and much more are answered on this week’s Untapped Philanthropy podcast as Fluxx co-founder Kerrin Mitchel sits down with a friend of the podcast and CIO of the MacArthur Foundation, John Mohr, to learn more about his role at MacArthur, his work toward a universal common application, and his advice for current and aspiring technologists and CIOs in philanthropy.

For those of us in information security (InfoSec for short) "CIA" doesn't just mean the Central Intelligence Agency. But rather, CIA is an acronym referring to the foundational pillars of Information Security. And understanding the CIA triad is key to understanding how an organization can protect the data it uses, stores, and or processes.

If there’s one topic we love (and need) to revisit at Fluxx, it’s security. During her tenure as CEO, Madeline Duva penned a piece for Forbes on the importance of good security measures, and last Halloween we shared 5 tried and true tips for those of you who are spooked by cybercrime.  

It’s happening this year. Accounting standards are changing and your foundation will be expected to adhere to the new FASB updates this winter. But what do they mean and how should you implement them? What are the most seamless and straightforward approaches for your team and your grantees? Our webinar is here to help.

At Fluxx, we’re fortunate to have some truly amazing organizations as clients. The Blue Shield of California Foundation is one of them. Its mission is to “build lasting and equitable solutions that make California the healthiest state and end domestic violence.” The Foundation does this through countless initiatives; some short and timely, some far-reaching such as the first ever Gender Justice Fund – a $10 million collaborative launched with the aim to change culture and advance gender justice. Their work serves a shining example of what 21st Century philanthropy can (and should) look like.

The Association of Food and Drug Officials (AFDO) isn’t your typical grantmaking organization. They’re an organization with close government affiliations that supports the FDA by providing grants to local health departments and other agencies, so that those teams can provide up-to-date food safety training, education, and local food safety checks. The program gives grants ranging from $500 to $50,000 towards food safety jurisdictions across the country.

They say admitting you have a problem is the first step. But once your foundation admits that your current grants management system is more hindrance than help, you’re suddenly left with the overwhelming project of figuring out how to choose the right system that will not only meet your needs today, but also scale with you into the future.