From Rigor to Humanity

As most of folks know, I'm a philanthropy dork and I spend a good number of my post bedtime hours scouring the internet for interesting philanthropic news. My Google Reader is a regular repository of the news and ideas from the likes of  Philanthropy 2173, the Stanford Social Innovation Review, and Tactical Philanthropy.

More often then not, somebody somewhere is discussing evaluation and impact of philanthropic dollars. And, more often then not, nobody has anything new to offer that juggernaut. Which is why I was delighted to be find this link to Philanthropy's Tension on Lucy's site. This ultra cool presentation puts the impact discussion on a pendulum -- swinging between RIGOR (we will prove we are can solve problems) and HUMANITY (we may never know our impact). The former relies on metrics, confidence, and discipline. The latter relies on trust, intuition, and relationships.

This mental model resonates with me now more than ever, as we at the Maine Women's Fund have just announced our 2008-2009 Grantee Partners. These organizations represent nearly $80,000 invested in building women's economic security across the state.When we defined our Economic Security Initiative, I can tell you that we aired on the side of Rigor -- delving into piles of research and indicators to determine sound investment policies. We discovered that when a woman starts a business, there is a 45-60% chance that she and her family will move out of poverty. We discovered that asset building improves home ownership, enables women to leave violent situations, and increases higher education (and through education enhances a woman's earning potential).This rigor defined the four areas of our grantmaking -- education, public policy, entrepreneurship & better jobs, and financial literacy & asset building.

However, when it comes to making our grant allocations, we air heavily on the side of the humanity. Trusting that broad diversity in our decision making process will achieve the best outcomes, we open the process to the public. Over forty women participated this year, a number we hope to increase annually in size and scope. We trust that the relationships between the four strategy areas and the connections between the organizations will generate the best outcomes for women's economic security.

Join me in celebrating these organizations and in believing that Maine is better place because of their contributions.

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However, when it comes to making our grant allocations, we air heavily on the side of the humanity. Trusting that broad diversity in our decision making process will achieve the best outcomes, we open the process to the public. Over forty women participated this year, a number we hope to increase annually in size and scope. We trust that the relationships between the four strategy areas and the connections between the organizations will generate the best outcomes for women's economic security.