Research Roundup: Community leadership could be the most significant role a community foundation plays
Research Roundup is a regular feature contributed by Dr. Alexandra Williamson of the Australian Centre for Philanthropy and Nonprofit Studies (ACPNS) at QUT. Each month, Dr. Williamson brings us the latest research into community philanthropy from around the world.
What are we reading this month?
Community Foundations as Community Leaders: The Role of Community Leadership in Creating Change
Who wrote it?
Dr. Colton Strawser
What’s their day job?
Dr. Strawser is a Visiting Scholar at the Mulvaney Center for Community Awareness and Social Action at the University of San Diego. Dr. Strawser also runs his own consulting company, Colton Strawser Consulting, and serves as the Executive Director for the Community Leadership, Engagement, and Research Institute. See his website for further details.
Who published it?
The Foundation Review, a practitioner-focused journal for organised philanthropy, published by the Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy in Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S.
Where’s the research based?
The research examines community foundations in Northern and Southern California in the U.S.
What’s it about?
Dr. Strawser examines the components that comprise the community foundation operating model: grantmaking, fundraising and community leadership. Out of these three, community leadership remains the least examined in terms of how foundations define and pursue it.
Strawser goes on to explore community leadership as constituted by three elements – civic leadership, community engagement and collective leadership. Conducting interviews with leaders of eleven foundations across California, Strawser uncovers the challenges and benefits community foundations encounter in pursuit of a community leadership role.
He finds that community leadership is the unique value-add of community foundations, setting them apart from other philanthropic giving structures. By practising community leadership, foundations often create disruptions by inviting other community leaders and stakeholders to question the status quo.
Why should I read it?
As the newest addition to the community foundation operating model, community leadership is often the role most neglected in research on community foundations. However, Strawser finds it has the potential to be their most significant role, despite foundations themselves struggling to define it.
The interviews in Strawser’s study are especially valuable for their honest and nuanced discussion of the challenges and tensions that come with pursuing a community leadership role. Among these challenges are exit strategies, acknowledging that community foundations are not experts in all community issues and must be able to “pass the torch” to continue fulfilling a leadership role.
One short direct quote
“The findings from the interviews suggest that as community foundations deepen their work, they need additional tools to guide the creation of effective leadership agendas that clearly articulate civic outcomes and communicate the impact of community foundation grantmaking and community leadership” (p.90).
Okay, so where’s the link?
The full article can be downloaded here.
Full citation:
Strawser, C. (2021). Community Foundations as Community Leaders: The Role of Community Leadership in Creating Change. The Foundation Review, 13(3), 10. doi: 10.9707/1944-5660.1580