7/30/2019 The Art of Adding Value

1/19

The Art of Adding ValueVariety New Yorks

High Touch, High Impact Philanthropic Model

By Jessica Bynoe

Executive Director, Variety New York

7/30/2019 The Art of Adding Value

2/19

A Bold Vision for Philanthropy

The relationship between funder and

grantee is strained by many factors.

Power imbalances

Cultural differences

Disproportionate resources

Accountability

Risk and trust

Different definitions of success.

The relationship between funder and

grantee must be examined and refined

to become a mutual partnership.

Work in tandem to create great

change.

Funder adds value

Grantees and funder act as partners

Understanding that money is not the

only currency of power

The Art of Adding Value by Jessica Bynoe, Executive Director of

Variety the Children's Charity of New York, Tent 35

The relationship between funders and grantees hold great promise andfertility to create a deep impact on issues of inequity and injustice,

however reality often stifles this potential.

7/30/2019 The Art of Adding Value

3/19

In 2010, Variety New York began an ambitious strategic plan to

determine ways to achieve high impact grant making. Whenthe Board of Directors decided to develop a grassroots value-added approach to philanthropy, it was a rare and excitingopportunity.

Key Decisions to Support High Impact Grantmaking Align Varietys history with philanthropic outcomes

Focus on outcomes & impact rather than inputs & outputs

Fund only grassroots non-profits

Narrow the focus to transformational arts programs

Design a value-added set of supports for grantees to enhanceperformance

Increase brand recognition

The Art of Adding Value by Jessica Bynoe, Executive Director of

Variety the Children's Charity of New York, Tent 35

Variety New Yorks Strategic Plan

7/30/2019 The Art of Adding Value

4/19

Adding Versus Creating Value

One could say the concept of supporting grantees with more

than money goes back to 1969 when Rockefeller introducedthe idea of venture philanthropy.

The concept of creating value was introduced in 1999 byKramer and Porter in PhilanthropysNew Agenda: CreatingValue, which discussed how funders can offer additional

resources to grantees to enhance the value of the donations. Their framework remained very funder centric. It is essentially

a suggested list of things the funder can do to enhance andprove its own value rather than the value of the overall work.

At Variety New York we find this distinction critical in trying

to alleviate some of the challenges most often cited in thecurrent climate on philanthropic giving

The Art of Adding Value by Jessica Bynoe, Executive Director of

Variety the Children's Charity of New York, Tent 35

7/30/2019 The Art of Adding Value

5/19

Adding Versus Creating Value

The Art of Adding Value by Jessica Bynoe, Executive Director of

Variety the Children's Charity of New York, Tent 35

Funder &Value

Grantees

Outputs

Grantees

Value

Funder

Outcomes& ImpactVs.

7/30/2019 The Art of Adding Value

6/19

Goals of Adding Value

Adding value should be both a means and an end for funders to successfullyreach the goals in their logic models.

Support existing br il li ance. As a funder, it is important to remember thatmany of the brilliant ideas to change communities, injustices, and societyare already out there. They need to be identified, nurtured, and lifted up.

Add capacity and strengthen innovation. Once there is recognition of

the existing brilliance it should become the goal of funders to addcapacity and strengthen the innovations of the ideas and organizations.

Ease the power imbalance between funder and grantee. The desire toease the power imbalance must be an explicit goal in this work. Onlywhen the power imbalance is addressed will a funder and grantee be ableto work more as partners, with funders working alongside grantees ratherthan as gatekeepers in front of grantees.

Buil d the broader f ield. When supporting grantees through a value-added approach, funders ought to recognize their role as field builders asit relates to their ability to add to the knowledge base, support emergingleaders, and create infrastructure for collaboration.

The Art of Adding Value by Jessica Bynoe, Executive Director of

Variety the Children's Charity of New York, Tent 35

7/30/2019 The Art of Adding Value

7/19

7/30/2019 The Art of Adding Value

8/19

A Sharp Investment FocusWhat is it?

Singular investment focus Supports a specific theory of change

Consistent over time

Transparent

Why it Matters Develop a rich understanding of a field, the communities affected by

an issue, and the programs and interventions that reap the mostsuccess.

Select grantees in a more educated way.

Assess outcomes and impact more clearly.

Inform a broader field that can help both grantees and fundersachieve more profound results.

Become a true partner in the field of impact.

The Art of Adding Value by Jessica Bynoe, Executive Director of

Variety the Children's Charity of New York, Tent 35

7/30/2019 The Art of Adding Value

9/19

Defining Risk

Supporting small and young organizations Seeking out grassroots grantees

Supporting untraditional leaders

Working with organizations whose spaces are raw, shared, or nonexistent

Working with limited infrastructure for things like evaluation, technology orrecord keeping.

Innovation at the Edges

Indigenous leadership

Deep commitment to outcomes

Out of the box solutions

Diverse voices

The most resonate, and passionate ideas

It may be safer and less risky to support larger, more established organizations,but if we are trying to achieve real change, we must support those solutionswhich are born in and by the communities most afflicted.

The Art of Adding Value by Jessica Bynoe, Executive Director of

Variety the Children's Charity of New York, Tent 35

Risk Taking to Support Innovation

7/30/2019 The Art of Adding Value

10/19

When making a commitment to risk taking and innovation, it isimportant to develop systems of diligence and high standards tosafeguard against failure.

Extensive outreach process to small organizations, affinitygroups, local foundations, and personal contacts to ensure that

grassroots organizations are aware funding.

Intentionally market grants opportunities in non-traditionalcircles.

Extreme accessibility to potential grantees.

Thorough and transparent review process using objectiverubrics, multiple scorers, site visits, and board engagement.

Relationships, relationships, relationships!

The Art of Adding Value by Jessica Bynoe, Executive Director of

Variety the Children's Charity of New York, Tent 35

Diligence to Support Risk

7/30/2019 The Art of Adding Value

11/19

Relationships of Shared Valued

Grantees and funders can work together as partners to achieve mutual

goals. A good first step is for the funder to reflect on their strengths, gaps,

communication style, and desire to learn.

Defining roles in the funder/grantee partnership

Grantees have the most important job of doing the most innovativework at the grassroots levels

Funders have the most important job of supporting grantees aseffective, efficient organizations while enhancing their visibility inthe field

Open and candid lines of communication early help grantees andfunders understand the gaps in the collective knowledge and figureout how to fill them.

Engage grantees as partners, teachers, and leaders in this work. Pursue active learning with grantees and other partners to understand

how this work is done most effectively.

Reflection and improvement

The Art of Adding Value by Jessica Bynoe, Executive Director of

Variety the Children's Charity of New York, Tent 35

7/30/2019 The Art of Adding Value

12/19

Varied & Targeted ResourcesMoving from Charity to Change

Traditional check writing philanthropy misses a huge opportunity toensure that the grantees and funders outputs and, more importantly,outcomes and impact are stronger and the organizations are moresuccessful.

When Variety New York designed its approach, it wanted to offergrantees targeted and varied resources to help them achieve their goals.

Secure investments Launches grantees on to bigger funding opportunities

Types of Resources

Monthly workshops

One-on-one technical assistance

Collective infrastructure Enhanced visibility

Publication opportunities

The Art of Adding Value by Jessica Bynoe, Executive Director of

Variety the Children's Charity of New York, Tent 35

7/30/2019 The Art of Adding Value

13/19

Example Resources

The Art of Adding Value by Jessica Bynoe, Executive Director of

Variety the Children's Charity of New York, Tent 35

7/30/2019 The Art of Adding Value

14/19

Example Resources

The Art of Adding Value by Jessica Bynoe, Executive Director of

Variety the Children's Charity of New York, Tent 35

7/30/2019 The Art of Adding Value

15/19

Collective Infrastructure Some grassroots grantees would not have the internal

capacity to implement some strategies for organizationaldevelopment.

One of the biggest challenges small non-profits face is

developing the infrastructure necessary to support

sophisticated processes and systems that will allow themto grow.

VarietyNew York decided to enhance everyones

capacity by developing systems of collective

infrastructure

Variety New York creates and manages systems that can

be shared by all.

The Art of Adding Value by Jessica Bynoe, Executive Director of

Variety the Children's Charity of New York, Tent 35

7/30/2019 The Art of Adding Value

16/19

Evaluation as InfrastructureAt Variety New York, we centralized evaluation systems creating threesurvey instruments for grantees to use and submit to the team at Variety

New York. Uniform protocols

Centralized data entry, analysis and reporting

Higher statistical power

Initial Results 98% of youth demonstrating the ability to work as a team,

92% of youth expressing increased confidence,

91% of youth creating products that demonstrate a high level of insightinto their communities,

86% of youth being able to express their ideas more clearly,

82% of youth reporting the attainment of skills that will be helpful intheir future career, and

76% of youth reporting an increase in motivation to do better in schoolas a result of the programs.

The Art of Adding Value by Jessica Bynoe, Executive Director of

Variety the Children's Charity of New York, Tent 35

7/30/2019 The Art of Adding Value

17/19

The Art of Adding Value by Jessica Bynoe, Executive Director of

Variety the Children's Charity of New York, Tent 35

7/30/2019 The Art of Adding Value

18/19

Possibilities of the Model

Become honest about the current limitations of

philanthropy.

Develop relationships and investment partnerships that

recognize power dynamics and work to address them.

Ensure the most innovative ideas better inform a field.

Use grantee and funder assets in strategic ways to achieve

mutual outcomes of deeper and greater impact.

Achieve a higher return on investment for philanthropic

dollars.

The Art of Adding Value by Jessica Bynoe, Executive Director of

Variety the Children's Charity of New York, Tent 35

7/30/2019 The Art of Adding Value

19/19

Next Steps

Enlist grantees and other funders as advocates.

Expand research to better track, measure, and

transparently report on the effectiveness of philanthropy

overall and value-added approaches in particular. Prove higher returns on investment with true, not

assumed, calculations of net social impact.

Encourage a greater circle of funders to embrace value-

added philanthropy.

The Art of Adding Value by Jessica Bynoe, Executive Director of

Variety the Children's Charity of New York, Tent 35