W.K. Kellogg Foundation's Building Bridges Initiative

Building Bridges
Between Practice and Knowledge in Nonprofit Management Education

The following is a portion of a report given to the W. K. Kellogg Foundation Board of Trustees, March 2001. The Philanthropy and Volunteerism program team made an oral presentation that highlighted key elements and provided a case example.

In its last two programming updates to the W.K. Kellogg Foundation Board of Trustees, the Philanthropy and Volunteerism team focused on changes in philanthropy and the nonprofit sector, and outlined a new strategic plan known as Unleashing Resources. The renaissance in philanthropy continues, as major news reports indicate weekly. This update steps back and provides an overview of an initiative that has been at the core of Philanthropy and Volunteerism programming in recent years, and that is contributing significantly to the organization’s work in Philanthropy and Volunteerism [P&V]. It will describe recent progress in the Building Bridges initiative and will show how it provides a solid foundation for future efforts to increase the scope and diversity of philanthropic participation – the goal of the Kellogg Foundation’s P&V programming.

The goal of Unleashing Resources is to increase the scope and diversity of philanthropic participation. The goal is built, in part, on the premise that most philanthropic resources are turned into action through organizations in the nonprofit sector. Strengthening the leadership and management of nonprofit organizations increases the effectiveness of philanthropy. This premise has also served as a touchstone for Building Bridges.

The Building Bridges initiative directly addresses the premise that nonprofits play a significant role in turning philanthropic resources into social action. The goal of the initiative is to help make the nonprofit sector more effective. It is aimed at developing nonprofit organization leadership and management through education programs, usually associated with higher education institutions. Strong nonprofit organizations are key to changing lives. Improving these organizations is not a trivial undertaking. Few people appreciate the scale and scope of nonprofits in the United States and the world today.

There are more than 1.5 million nonprofit organizations in the United States. Approximately 7 percent of the national income in 1996 (estimated at $621.4 billion) was generated by the nonprofit sector. The sector employs 1.2 million workers and another 5.7 million full-time equivalent volunteers. Together these workers make up more than one-tenth of the U.S. labor force. While private giving is an important source of income to the sector, the vast majority of revenue comes from fees, generated income, and the public sector.

In his 1848 book, Democracy in America, Alexis de Toqueville remarked that the role of voluntary organizations is to create democracy and do the work of community. While various labels are now used – the nonprofit sector, civil society, or the third sector – these organizations provide the basis for social capital in communities. Ranging from large hospitals and colleges to social service providers, museums, and advocacy groups of all sizes, they augment and connect the work of the for-profit sector and formal government structures.

The following report provides an update on Building Bridges. It is hoped that this information will further illustrate how this program is serving as a basis for future work of the Philanthropy and Volunteerism team. The oral presentation by Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Bob Kersee will demonstrate how a Building Bridges project assisted them in directing their philanthropic resources. Jackie and Bob will also demonstrate exciting new work in the Unleashing Domain for Action (See Appendix A) and how persons of color with new wealth are helping youth succeed.

Nonprofit Management Education (Building Bridges)

The Kellogg Foundation works to improve the quality of life in communities. Throughout the organization’s history, community-based organizations have served as a primary vehicle for efforts to pursue this goal. As shown in the following illustration, improving the capacities of these organizations to serve their communities is one of the key commitments, and the development of leadership and management competencies for their leaders is a critical part of the Foundation’s Philanthropy and Volunteerism strategy.

In 1986, the late Pete Ellis, a Kellogg Foundation program director who launched the organization’s work in Philanthropy and Volunteerism, began to develop a strategy focused on the development of nonprofit organization leadership and management capacities through education. The Foundation’s early activities included scanning educational needs and opportunities, seeking advice from nonprofit leaders and scholars, and making selected grants to pioneering educational programs. At the beginning, there were only three programs with a critical mass of activity. Case Western Reserve University and the University of San Francisco were offering nonprofit management courses, and Yale University had established a research center on nonprofit sector issues. The nonprofit sector was growing rapidly, creating a demand for management education focused on the distinctive needs of those leading nonprofit organizations. All indicators at the time suggested that the higher education community was gearing up to respond to the demand and the growth in related programs began to accelerate. By 1994, the number of programs had grown to 38 and, by 1996, there were 62. It was clear that this growth was going to continue, and that the Foundation had found a ripe opportunity to help improve the quality and relevance of these educational programs.

From this early exploratory activity, significant gaps in this emerging educational arena were identified. Philanthropy and Volunteerism’s commitment was to help insure a match between the needs of those working in the field and the education being offered. There was a need for much greater availability around the country and a need for new methods of delivery to reach those who could not otherwise gain access. There was a need for better representation among those developing and delivering the programs to help ensure that they are responsive to the needs of an increasingly diverse audience and community. And there was a need to keep the curriculum current as the nonprofit management environment changes in the future. These perspectives informed the guiding principles for this work:

The Building Bridges initiative was designed in 1996 with the first grants made in 1998. The purpose was to integrate the guiding principles into a strategy to link the field of practice with higher education. This “engaged institution” strategy grew directly out of the experience of many Kellogg Foundation community-higher education partnership initiatives. The Building Bridges initiative sought to encourage a “two-way flow of learning between the field of practice and educational institutions.” Each grant addresses a creative combination of the guiding principles. At the core of each grant is a partnership between the nonprofit community and the educational institution that is focused on improving practice and instruction.

Thirteen new grants and six existing grants from the ongoing nonprofit management education work formed Building Bridges. Most of the grants were to universities, each with a creative and distinctive approach to partnering with the nonprofit sector to deliver management education. There were two exceptions – a grant to the Society for Nonprofit Organizations to develop a new distance learning system in collaboration with the University of Wisconsin and a grant to the St. Louis Nonprofit Services Consortium to coordinate the work of twelve management education programs, including four universities.

The initiative was designed in collaboration with Latin America and Caribbean Programming, since there were many parallels in both nonprofit management education needs and strategies for linking these to educational opportunities. Eight Latin American programs with similar commitments to Nonprofit Management Education joined the initiative.

Building Bridges is conducting extensive networking activities for grantees, collectively known as the Learning Community. Teams of practitioners and academics from each project are connected on an ongoing basis through face-to-face networking conferences and leadership development programs, an interactive Web Site, and regular print and electronic communications. Over the course of the initiative, members of the teams are strengthening their understanding of the field, representing their particular perspectives in the learning processes, and connecting in many directions to other individuals and teams. Investments in additional connecting strategies are helping build understanding, linkages, and stronger relationships around the educational issues central to Building Bridges. Many of the resulting connections are presented in the partnership descriptions that appear later in this paper. The Learning Community has become a rich source of extensive partnership development, extending the impact of the initiative across the projects and regions.

A typical Nonprofit Management Education program offers mid-career nonprofit professionals and those who are seeking careers in the sector the chance to develop new management skills. It also offers them opportunities to learn new strategies for improving their organizations, governance, funding, personnel, volunteers, programs and services, etc. They participate in programs that are delivered as traditional college courses, continuing education workshops, certificate programs, Internet-based training systems, distance learning sessions, among others. Quality educational programs are developed in close cooperation with nonprofit professionals to help insure direct relevance to the challenges of their jobs. The partnerships supported by the initiative seek to increase the relevance and quality of the education while testing a variety of delivery systems.

Grants and associated activities help Nonprofit Management Education programs gain credibility on their campuses and within the nonprofit communities they serve, supporting successful implementation of the projects. The Building Bridges approach helps the projects build strong relationships that link the university to the community through important educational services. The commitment to building the bridge between practice and knowledge has been successful because both sides of the equation experience benefits. The university partners see such successful programs going far beyond traditional university outreach, helping the institution become an important part of the resources engaged to help address real social issues. The community partners see the programs as the source of relevant education, research, and technical assistance. To gain a better sense of the range of Building Bridges projects, a list of the grantees and project purpose statements is attached. (See Appendix B).

Kellogg Foundation involvement in the nonprofit management education movement was a matter of catching the wave of growth and contributing to its speed and quality. To offer a comparison of the relative size and scope of this work, consider other related management education efforts. The American Assembly of Collegiate Schools of Business was established in 1916 and now has over 650 member institutions. The National Association of Schools of Public Affairs and Administration was founded in 1958 and now includes nearly 300 institutions. Then, consider the rapid growth of nonprofit management education programs. When the Kellogg Foundation first began its exploration in this field in 1986, there were three programs with a critical mass. By 1996, the Nonprofit Academic Centers Council (founded in 1992) had 35 member institutions out of the 62 in existence at that time. Today there are more than 180 nonprofit management education programs, with projections of more than 400 programs coming into existence by 2005.

When Building Bridges was launched, there were no programs in Latin America and the Caribbean. The first related degree programs were launched recently in Buenos Aires and Sao Paulo (both Building Bridges projects). All of the programs in the initiative are serving as leaders and models for the new programs in both regions. Early funding for program development, curriculum design, and delivery system testing set the foundation for most of the academic programs developed since. Through the effort, the Foundation’s role has changed to one of developing the leadership of the teams of practitioners and academics from each project. The Building Bridges network offers a cross-regional system of support and communications for these leaders as they reach out to the rest of the field.

A sample of nine grantees – out of the 19 U.S. grants – completed a recent electronic survey and reported a range of accomplishments that could be directly attributed to their participation in Building Bridges. A more comprehensive evaluation of various aspects of all grants is currently under way. The sample represented the full range of types of programs, audiences served, delivery systems, locations, and partnerships included in the initiative. A rigorous review process was conducted to verify the basis of respondent decisions to credit the initiative as the primary reason for the reported results. Although the focus of Building Bridges investments was on program development activities, all the projects shared a commitment to long-term sustainability. In addition, although the projects are relatively young, they report excellent progress in a number of areas of high value in higher education that are directly associated with program sustainability.

The survey provided extensive evidence and examples of progress being made to meet initiative goals. To illustrate these findings, we can look at the initiative’s focus on partnerships. Central to Building Bridges was the building of strong and permanent bridges between practice and knowledge, which relates to and involves all the other guiding principles. The nine survey respondents report that 72 new partnerships have grown directly out of their participation in the initiative. These successful “bridges” fall into categories established by the Building Bridges goals:

Increased availability of nonprofit management education programs: In addition to the growth in the number of new nonprofit management education programs around the country, many of the programs are developing partnerships with other academic programs to offer joint degrees and certifications. An example is Case Western Reserve University, where the well-established nonprofit management graduate certificate can now be taken in a joint degree program within the university’s law school and several degree programs in the College of Arts and Sciences.

Expanded reach: Most of the Building Bridges grantees are working with creative new partnerships to expand the reach of their educational programs to new audiences. For example, Arizona State University responded to a regional demand for nonprofit management certification through a partnership with the Phoenix-based Motorola University and its sophisticated distance-learning system. Together, they deliver education to United Way agencies through the full range of available technologies (satellite, Internet, teleconferencing, etc.) in collaboration with the Drucker Foundation and The Learning Institute (both Kellogg Foundation grantees).

Increased knowledge: Building and sharing knowledge across regions of the world offers distinctive challenges. For example, in its efforts to support partnerships with institutions in other countries, Indiana University has committed itself to the cultural context of philanthropy – the diversity of teaching methods and styles appropriate in different regions of the world. Participation in Building Bridges led to a partnership with the Fundacao Getulio Vargas in Brazil, which has resulted in the launching of a Brazilian Fund-Raising School for leaders of nongovernmental organizations. The core Indiana University curriculum was adjusted to be appropriate to the context of Brazilian nonprofit organizations, creating new “culturally responsive” knowledge in fund raising.

Enhanced Technical Assistance: The State University of New York-Albany project partnered with Microknowledge Inc. to develop training in software applications for nonprofits. Applications include database and spreadsheet development, Web page design, and e-mail systems. As a result, nonprofit staff members are not only becoming more skilled in using these programs, but the training helps increase awareness about the need for ongoing technology training for nonprofits.

Building and revitalizing community networks: When the Philanthropy and Volunteerism team presented to the Board, Trustees learned about the impact of Building Bridges on a local nonprofit organization and new philanthropic effort in East St. Louis. Jackie Joyner-Kersee and Bob Kersee shared their story of how bridges are being built to support community development efforts in East St. Louis that they are spearheading. They also told Trustees how they are establishing their own approach to philanthropy. Theirs is an excellent example of a single project that involves several key target groups – youth, women, new wealth, and communities of color.

The Jackie Joyner-Kersee Charitable Trust

The St. Louis Nonprofit Services Consortium includes 12 nonprofit management efforts – four of which are university-based programs that work together to offer a variety of services. The Jackie Joyner-Kersee Center is linked to the Consortium through student interns, consulting and research support, management assistance, and fund-raising training. The newly formed Jackie Joyner-Kersee Charitable Trust is working in close connection with the St. Louis Metropolitan Association on Philanthropy, the Indiana University Center on Philanthropy, and Kellogg Foundation staff. Support is being provided in the areas of strategic planning, board development, program organization and fund development. In addition the Joyner-Kersee team has engaged Building Bridges to connect with other similar local programs and philanthropies in the United States and Latin America. This level of direct impact on local nonprofits is typical of Building Bridges grants. It can be found in every Building Bridges community and, increasingly among all Building Bridges grantees.

With an average Kellogg Foundation investment of $600,000 per grant, totals of more than $700,000 cash and $540,000 in-kind contributions have been received by the nine institutions in the first three years of the initiative. Institutional commitment to projects is expected to grow significantly over the next few years.

All grantees have reported highly valued institutional contributions, in addition to the cash and in-kind commitments reported above. These contributions include prime facility space and office equipment, publicity and communications support, tuition waivers for graduate students, new course development funds, faculty release time, and priority access to scholarship funds for students, among other things. With direct support from the institutions’ development offices, more than $3.1 million in new external funding have been acquired by these sampled projects.

External funding comes from private and community foundations, corporate donors, government agencies, and nonprofit partners. Seven of the nine institutions have approved a total of 11.25 full-time equivalent new faculty and staff positions for the projects. A range of new programs, services and products have been developed. They serve as sources of potential tuition and fee revenue. These include new curricula, publications, delivery systems, on-line courses, recruitment materials, research funds, social enterprise incubators, practitioner in-residence programs, among others. To support these efforts, a number of institutional policies were developed or changed. For example, Boards of Trustees approved new programs of study, new graduate curricula, new academic centers, and new institutes on six of the nine campuses. These types of results offer strong confidence that the programs are valued by their home institutions and will likely be continued into the future.

As discussed during the 1998 Building Bridges update to the Board, the Philanthropy and Volunteerism team is committed to disseminating the many lessons that are being learned along the way. The best way to go about this work is through the network of leaders, nonprofit practitioners, and academics that have developed and coalesced through the initiative. The team proposes that the final stage of the Foundation’s nonprofit management education programming be guided by a network of these leaders. They will sustain the growth and assure the viability of the nonprofit management education field, and provide leadership for focused efforts to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the philanthropic sector. This focuses the effort on the primary target of the new Philanthropy and Volunteerism team’s Unleashing Resources initiative: philanthropy.

As the number of nonprofit management education programs continues to grow, leadership around best practices will serve to guide program quality and effectiveness. The great opportunity, during this time of explosive growth in philanthropic institutions, is to apply best practices to positively affect the process of growth and development of such institutions in society. The body of work in nonprofit management education and the investment in Building Bridges has helped develop a knowledge management capacity that is one of the linchpins of Unleashing Resources.

The Philanthropy and Volunteerism team’s presentation to the Board provided a closer look at Jackie Joyner-Kersee’s project and its connections to the overall Unleashing strategy.

The Building Bridges initiative is reporting important results and the final phase will focus on disseminating some of the lessons learned. Dissemination will include a variety of methods that promote the success and impact of linking education and practice in a two-way learning relationship. For this work, dissemination is first and foremost the management of knowledge. This involves developing knowledge, as well as carrying out the related dissemination activities of marketing, promotion, etc. The best practices that are core to this knowledge management effort rise directly out of the lessons learned during Building Bridges in the following areas:

All of these best practices are essential to achieving the goal of improved efficiency and effectiveness of the philanthropic community. The tactical decisions as to how best to apply these lessons will bubble up from the leadership of the nonprofit management education field during the course of the dissemination phase. This strategy will assure that the approaches are rooted in good practice, and that leaders are committed to putting them into operation. In addition to developing knowledge and disseminating information, considerable effort will be made to convene and connect key players in the field, and to nurture networks. Work will also be done to foster partnerships among the academies, and between the academies and philanthropic institutions. The network of leaders and Kellogg Foundation program staff will guide the details of the implementation plan.

Again, the Building Bridges initiative is central to the work the Philanthropy and Volunteerism team is doing now and the work the team plans to do in the future. The accomplishments are noteworthy, to be sure, but they serve an even larger role by providing a solid base on which to anchor tomorrow’s efforts to unleash resources for the common good.

Philanthropy and Volunteerism Program Overview

Unleash human and financial resources that build a mutually responsible and just society in which all have the ability and the will to contribute to the common good.

Work with each target audience in the Domain for Action (illustrated below) to strengthen their organizations, leadership, and support infrastructure, and prepare them to work together with others. Audiences are youth, women, communities of color, social entrepreneurs, new wealth creators, and corporate social innovators.

Bring target audiences together to create a synergistic marketplace, where ideas are developed and partnerships are brokered that promote action for the common good. Connecting strategies develop leadership and capacity, infrastructure, and partnerships (within and among sectors) and knowledge dissemination within and among groups.

Increase the management capacity of nonprofit sector leaders through educational programs focused on the relationships among the nonprofit, public, and commercial sectors.

Engage practitioners in education and research, focused on inner-city Cleveland nonprofit organizations

Test a wide range of educational programs and delivery systems in the development of a comprehensive program, which will include an extensive collaboration with a wide variety of other educational program providers around the country.

Harvard University's Hauser Center for Nonprofit Institutions, in a partnership project with the Business School and School of Government

Build intellectual capital and pedagogic materials that can significantly improve the capacity of nonprofit leaders and managers throughout the country.

Construct a set of strategic relationships between nonprofit organizations and the university to strengthen the management and leadership infrastructure for nonprofit organizations in the Northwest Region.

Southern Illinois University at Edwardsville/University of Missouri at St. Louis/Washington University/St. Louis University Partnership's St. Louis Nonprofit Services Consortium Project

Strengthen the nonprofit sector by offering a variety of education, training, and technical assistance opportunities to organizations and individuals through a comprehensive education and training consortium.

University of Albany, State University of New York's Center for Women in Government

Strengthen the leadership and management competencies of a broadly diverse population who are current or potential policy activists and change agents on issues related to women, children, and families throughout New York.

University of Pennsylvania's Center for Community Partnerships (connecting the Wharton School of Business; Schools of Social Work, Arts & Sciences, and Fine Arts; and Graduate School of Education)

Link faculty and students to local problem solving in nonprofit organizations advancing family, community, and neighborhood development in Philadelphia.

University of Texas-San Antonio's Center for the Study of Women and Gender and College of Social and Behavioral Sciences

Increase the number of African-American and Mexican-American students entering programs of study for careers in the nonprofit sector, which partners students with mid-level managers in a shared educational program.

Western Michigan University's Nonprofit Leadership and Administration Program, in partnership with the Calhoun County-based Nonprofit Collaborative

Develop a new approach to the delivery of university-based nonprofit management education programs, in direct collaboration with other management service providers and the Kellogg Youth Initiative Partnerships.

Develop a comprehensive research and education program focused on the leadership and management needs of religious professionals and secular managers working in faith-based organizations.

Improve the quality of human service programs by preparing entry-level professionals for organizational leadership and management roles.

California State University at Los Angeles' Intercultural Proficiency Project

Strengthen the capacity of human service professionals to provide quality programs and services that engage multicultural communities.

City University of New York, Center for the Study of Philanthropy's Multicultural Curriculum Development Project

Incorporate an improved understanding of the roles of different cultures in philanthropy and volunteerism into higher education curricula and into professional practice.

Strengthen the leadership and management skills of the local nonprofit sector development of a comprehensive range of professional and educational activities for senior staff and board members.

Johns Hopkins University, Institute for Policy Studies Nonprofit Management Graduate Program

Promote and strengthen philanthropy and volunteerism by developing a new approach to training leaders of nonprofit and public institutions to manage the emerging interrelationships among the sectors more effectively.

Improve understanding of the philanthropic tradition in American life, transmit this understanding to new constituencies and successor generations, and improve the practice of philanthropy and fund-raising.

Establish a Center for Nonprofit Management and Social Entrepreneurship to provide research, training, and recognition of excellence in the nonprofit sector.

Wisconsin Society for Nonprofit Organizations/University of Wisconsin-Extension/Murphy Communication's The Learning Institute

Promote and strengthen nonprofit sector leadership and management through a new collaborative approach to distance education.

Increase professional linkages and interactions between nonprofit management education programs in Latin America and the United States.

Foster the development of philanthropy among wealthy individuals, families, business leaders, and corporations and in Latin American society at large.

Train professionals to meet the need and demand for professionalizing Third-sector organizations, especially philanthropic organizations in Brazil.

Strengthen Argentinean civil society by the training of human resources that belong to the Third Sector through a university-based educational program.

Increase professional linkages and interactions between nonprofit management education programs in Latin America and the United States.

Nonprofit Management Education (Building Bridges)

Philanthropy and Volunteerism Program Overview