Here are some shining examples of what we’ve achieved through our partnerships. We’re grateful to work with some of the smartest, most passionate people out there.
Assessing Needs, Setting Strategy, and Managing Grants
For the David & Lucile Packard Foundation, Elaine on an interim basis helped manage and assist the Packard Fellowships for Science and Engineering Program in three separate engagements. And in 2008, as a subcontractor for Putnam Community Investment Consulting, Elaine conducted a needs assessment on disaster response and planning, which culminated in a report to coordinate disaster preparedness planning among Northern California grantmakers.
For the Blue Shield of California Foundation (as a subcontractor for Putnam Community Investment Consulting)…Elaine researched, interviewed and conducted a statewide needs assessment of the domestic violence field in California, and supported the funder in managing a $3.7MM grant initiative. This included crafting grantee-facing materials (RFPs, grant guidelines) and managing the proposal and report review, due diligence, funding formula and payments process.
Building Internal Capacity
For the David Lucile Packard Foundation…Elaine conducted a Foundation-wide scan and developed, designed and branded an internal grantmaking and compliance manual (250+ pages) that documents the Foundation’s processes and policies. This evolving manual ups the efficiency and ease in how current program and compliance staff interface with the Foundation’s grantmaking software, and serves as an invaluable tool to onboard new staff.
Creating a Philanthropy Movement
For Hammer & Associates and the Global Family Office Community…Elaine co-developed, designed and branded a signature white paper Philanthropy in the Family Office: A Global Perspective–the first of its kind to capture and encourage the philanthropic practices of family offices worldwide. This research unveiled at the June 2015 Global Family Office Conference held in the U.K.
Educating Philanthropists & Sharing Best Practices
For Exponent Philanthropy…over an 11-year consultancy partnership, Elaine has authored 10+ primers, and contributed 50+ Essentials articles and 16+ PhilanthroFiles blog posts to educate the largest network of funders with few or no staff. She recently developed and branded a series of Teen Philanthropy Cafe toolkits to engage young philanthropists and contributed content and compelling funder stories for EP’s Outsized Impact Reports.
Toolkits for Advisors & Facilitators
For the philanthropic advisory firm 21/64…Elaine crafted language for a series of instructional tools that help multigenerational families talk about wealth, philanthropy, family dynamics, leadership and more (e.g. rolePlay, Generational Profiles Toolkit, Motivational Values Cards, Money Messages, Family Diagram, Family Quest Giving and Exploring Wealth Cards, Leadership Tools for Change). Thousands of families and philanthropic advisors worldwide have used these tools to facilitate challenging conversations, deepen their understanding of themselves and each other, and shape their philanthropic approach.
In 2016, for Hammer & Associates, in addition to writing blog posts, marketing content and a speaker kit to boost her client’s business, Elaine and team co-developed, branded and designed a new toolkit series for family offices called Engaged Philanthropy: A Family Office Guide to Meaningful Giving, which helped create a platform for her client to attract more clients and speaking engagements.
Writing Grants & Building Donor Relations
Marketing & Creating Content
For Get Storied, a boutique training and advisory firm focusing on storytelling for businesses and entrepreneurs, Elaine served as Editorial Manager from 2013-2014. She developed an editorial plan and calendar, ghost-wrote blog posts and other compelling online copy, and co-wrote a storytelling toolkit for Pennsylvania libraries and an internal policies and procedure manual for an eight-facility healthcare system in Florida.
For Graphic Beans, a Baltimore-based graphic design and marketing firm, Elaine ghost-wrote blog posts to build relationships with potential clients and provide value to existing clients. Together, we developed a list of editorial topics and created a calendar to target content in a timely way to key audience segments.