One of the core philosophies that I ask the members of our team to keep at the top of mind in all of our work is the belief that "context is key." In order to be the most effective thought partners and grantmakers possible, we need to fully understand the conditions and circumstances under which our grantees do their work.
Our inquiry driven approach sets us up to provide grantees with targeted, strategic funding and thought partnership that reflects the conditions where they work.
Many of SFE's grantees are adapting to frequently changing conditions, and are finding new ways to make their programs available remotely to keep serving communities everywhere in the face of substantial uncertainty.
This convening was an important moment to highlight some of the values that we’ve prioritized in our grantmaking work, and to collaborate with other funders on strengthening our collective effectiveness.
All too often, development teams think they have to change their missions and the work of their organizations to fit a funder’s vision. I think everyone would be well-served to remember a few key things.
Putting the right voices in conversation with one another is just the first step to creating something actionable - and without the right structures in place, a convening can end up producing a lot of noise.
We’re looking for a Director of Research and a Director of Grants Management to help guide us towards answers for our key questions, and guide the next phase of our inquiry.
