K-12 Foundation Officers as Connectors with Jackie Coleman
In this episode, we dive deeper into the exploration of how school funding works.
“Because relationship is so important, even if you don’t have particular programs identified (that match the funding criteria of the foundation), there is nothing wrong with beginning a conversation.” - Jackie Coleman
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Summary
In this episode, we dive deeper into the exploration of how school funding works. This is important for anyone looking to grow their school, but also matters if you are simply interested in the future of education, wonder how education will evolve, or would like to know how the funders are thinking. Our guest today is Jackie Coleman. She is Senior Education Investments Officer at Hartford Foundation for Public Giving.
We talk about the different types of foundations, how to approach foundation program officers, how she sees her role, the growing importance of social-emotional learning, and more. Without further adieu, here’s Jackie!
In our discussion, we cover:
01:20 Andrew asks Jackie to describe the grantmaking strategy of Hartford Foundation concerning education in particular.
03:58 Jackie responds to the question - how is a community foundation different from other types of foundations?
06:25 Andrew asks - how should schools think about starting to find their community foundation and beginning to build that relationship?
09:24 Jackie offers more general details about how the grantmaking process works.
13:57 Andrew wonders about what sort of information might make a call stand out.
19:57 Jackie responds to the question - how research-driven are your funding decisions?
22:16 Andrew asks - How does program evaluation, evidence or outcomes, or the existence of data affect the decision-making process?
24:30 Jackie discusses the landscape of grantmaking and shares a few shifts that she has seen beginning to take shape - particularly in education.
28:22 Andrew wonders what Jackie would say to school leaders who might be feeling discouraged after having applied for grants, but failed to receive any as of yet.
33:30 Jackie offers parting thoughts for schools interested in looking for funding.
Quotes:
04:20 “Find out who your local community foundation is...and be in dialogue with them about partners that they are working with.”
07:30 “It is not uncommon, and is often welcome for a potential partner, organization, or school district to call.”
15:20 “Because relationship is so important, even if you don’t have particular programs identified (that match the funding criteria of the foundation), there is nothing wrong with beginning a conversation.”
16:45 “Work moves at the speed of trust; it takes time to build relationships.”
33:35 “You might have heard the lottery slogan, ‘You can’t win if you don’t play,’ but it also holds true in funding. Don’t be afraid to ask.”
Here are some resources mentioned in our discussion:
Hartford Foundation for Public Giving https://www.hfpg.org/
The Wallace Foundation UPPI https://ucapp.education.uconn.edu/about-the-wallace-uppi-project/
Where to learn more about Jackie Coleman:
Jackie at Hartford Foundation - jcoleman@hfpg.org
Jackie on Linkedin https:linkedin.com/in/jackiecolemanct
Where to learn more about Enrollhand:
Website: www.enrollhand.com
Our webinar: https://webinar-replay.enrollhand.com
Our free Facebook group: https://www.facebook.com/groups/schoolgrowth/