Effective Foundation Management: 14 Challenges of Philanthropic Leadership--and How to Outfox Them

Orosz (philanthropic studies, Grand Valley State U.) presents a handbook for new leaders in philanthropy, divided by seven challenges and seven dilemmas of managing foundations, which consist of lack of pre- and post-employment training, a cohesive culture, salutary external discipline, reliable feedback, an accepted body of good practices, ideological cohesion between board and staff, and within staff, and dilemmas regarding low versus high overhead, strategic planning versus flexibility, broad versus deep scope, innovation versus implementation, expert versus community based, high versus low uncertainty, and high versus low profile. Challenges and dilemmas are explained with ideas for effectively managing each, through a mixed methods approach that uses stories, guidelines, tips, diagnostic questions, rules, and data. Annotation c2008 Book News, Inc., Portland, OR (booknews.com)

Joel J. Orosz is a leader in the movement to improve the effectiveness of foundation philanthropy. A former Executive Assistant to the CEO, and Program Director in Philanthropy and Volunteerism at the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, Dr. Orosz wrote the standard text for the training of program officers, The Insider's Guide to Grantmaking: How Foundations Find, Fund and Manage Effective Programs (2000). He also co-authored Agile Philanthropy: Understanding Foundation Effectiveness (2003). In 2004, Dr. Orosz founded The Grantmaking School, the first university-based training program for grantmaking professionals, located at the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Leadership of Grand Valley State University.