Five Difficult Questions

This section raises (but doesn't solve) some "big questions" that community foundations doing this work have wrestled with.

Why?

These questions, while they don't have easy answers, are important ones for community foundation Boards and staff to think about and discuss. They WILL come up – and being prepared helps!

1. What is the role of philanthropy in addressing poverty? What are the responsibilities of other sectors (like government and the private sector) and how does philanthropy fit in? If philanthropy steps in, are we letting government "off the hook" on this complex, shared, societal problem? Or do we have a responsibility to act?
2. When does work on root causes, such as poverty, become political? What is the role of community foundations in advocating for policy change? Can we maintain our non-partisan convening role when we begin to really understand the policies that create or perpetuate inequity? Is there an intermediary role we should play between charitable organizations and government policies that affect them?
3. How do you manage expectations? Success on a public plane raises the community's expectations of the role and leadership the foundation can take on other issues. Resources don't always allow us to respond. Success can be hard to cope with!
4. To remain relevant and effective, we need to become learning organizations. This takes time and resources. How do we demonstrate that those investments are justified?
5. Are we servants or are we leaders? If we are leaders at the service of the community, how visible should we be?