Foundations that move beyond traditional grantmaking to joining funding collaboratives or to awarding grants to coalitions are willingly entering a realm that can be less predictable, possibly risky, yet powerful.  Across the country funders are increasingly supporting networks, coalitions, and partnerships – fostering learning, cooperation and strength.

One New England funder’s network- and coalition-centric grantmaking is paying off in many ways.  It is  increasing land conservation as measured by dollars and acres, while also helping build a network of conservation organizations that are smarter and more ambitious than ever.

Regional Conservation Partnerships

The most recent initiative of the Jessie B. Cox Trust supports coalitions of conservation organizations in New England – where challenges of increasing density persist and the cost of land has sky-rocketed.  These coalitions, called Regional Conservation Partnerships (RCP), share the goal of increasing the scale and pace of land conservation. Read about the Network of RCPs and the Wildlands and Woodlands vision to conserve 70 percent of New England permanently free from development.

Just as the forests and habitat that the Cox Trust seeks to help protect operate at a regional level, so must its nonprofit organizations and partners.  Networks and coalitions can address challenges of scale, connectivity, strategy development and fundraising in ways that a single nonprofit organization could not.

Risk and opportunity

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Research into the physical effects of traumatic experiences on the brain is revealing possible new pathways to change and reshaping measures of program effectiveness. With increased knowledge of the stress-induced barriers to mental well-being, education, health and human services organizations are incorporating trauma-informed approaches into their programs.

Research around trauma has historically focused on war veterans. In 1995 the CDC began the Adverse Childhood Experiences Study (ACES) which demonstrated the lasting effects of childhood trauma into later life. The ACES research has been instrumental to understanding the long term effects of trauma and has provided compelling justification for early intervention. The CDC’s ongoing analysis has led to more inclusive definitions of trauma and has pointed to strong connections between childhood experiences and adult health status and behaviors.

Recent research into brain development is helping explain this connection in concrete terms – our brains change. In one article the Children’s Bureau explains the effects of maltreatment on brain development, and an article on BrainBlogger.com describes how Post-traumatic stress disorder changes the brain.

Bridging a sense of isolation

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The A.C. Ratshesky Foundation celebrates 100 years

To celebrate his 50th birthday, a Boston-area banker named Abraham “Cap” Ratshesky chose to give a gift to his community by setting aside some of his wealth to create a foundation.

“Because man’s life is of such short duration, and those services he may do for his fellow man are so few at best, I deem it a privilege to be allowed to give during my lifetime,” Ratshesky wrote at the time.

A century later, that giving continues.

Continue reading about A.C. Ratshesky’s family philanthropy in this article on the National Center for Family Philanthropy’s site