We had great participation at our first 2024 Nonprofit Roundtable on April 10th. We were privileged to have an impressive panel that included Dahlia Brown of the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation, Jenny Jang of TK Elevator, and Jennifer Garner of Papa Johns Pizza. Our own Shelly Owens acted as moderator and led an information-packed discussion followed by some spirited Q & A.
We enjoyed hearing thought-provoking perspectives shared by our panelists. Audience members filled notebooks with little bits of wisdom. ome things our panelists had to say:
“Before I was on this side of the table, I had my own understanding of how philanthropy worked. I thought it was pretty easy to give away money, and foundations should already know what’s going on. What I understand now is that grant-making is more art than science. It is very difficult to give away money….because you are trying to match and align priority with impact with the organization and that takes time….This is relational work. It is helpful to do your homework and to learn the foundation’s priorities and strategies to see if there is alignment.” – Dahlia Brown, Robert W. Woodruff Foundation
“We have a lot of contractors and companies we work with, and our clients are asking us questions around what DE&I efforts we are supporting. So this is one example of how important it is to do your homework to understand what priorities are helping to guide the decisions of the grantmaking organizations you are dealing with.” – Jenny Jang, TK Elevator
“This seems so obvious, but I can’t tell you how many form letters I get addressed to ‘Dear Name.’ It’s just those little things, right? We have a website so you can see what we focus on. Tailoring your pitch is important. For Papa Johns specifically, we have financial giving, but we also provide volunteers, learning opportunities, and then in-kind donations since pizza is something we do very well.” – Jennifer Garner, Papa Johns Foundation
“I thought all panelists shared candidly and drew upon their foundation and CSR expertise. Private and corporate giving is strategic and intentional; it’s both a science and an art. Funders often give with the long-game in mind, knowing the right amount of pressure over the right amount of time will eventually boil down to the impact they want to make.” – Shelly Owens, CCF Director of Stakeholder Engagement
