Philanthropy cannot work in a silo or vacuum; philanthropy and the communities it serves are influenced by policy and elections. At the start of 2015, state legislatures will be in full swing with plenty of interesting policy issues on the table. For this webinar, we were joined by experts who demonstrated effective tools for understanding contemporary policy issues. We also heard from a foundation that is using data-centric tools to bolster their agenda.

Speakers:

• Christine Reeves, Senior Field Associate, National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy & Board Member, EPIP (Moderator)
• Edwin Bender, Executive Director, National Institute on Money in State Politics
• Bert Brandenberg, Executive Director, Justice at Stake
• Tara Malloy, Senior Counsel, Campaign Legal Center
• Daniel Stid, Director of the Madison Initiative, William & Flora Hewlett Foundation

Resources:

• The systems map  in which the Hewlett Foundation has tried to capture what they see as the key variables that need to be addressed and the relationships between them. Spend 20 minutes to review and work through the “unfolding” narrative tour that makes the complexity a bit more manageable.
• The Hewlett Foundation grantee list and map that describes their grantees / grants and the variables they are working on.
• The Hewlett Foundation's annotated list of sources they've found most helpful in developing the map.