Come On In. The Water's Fine.
An Exploration of Web 2.0 Technology and its Emerging Impact on Foundation Communications

Produced for the Communications Network
Made possible by support from The California Endowment, the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation

As long as foundations stay out of this space, their influence will be on the wane. We are missing opportunities to get our perspective included. We have a lot of knowledge we’ve learned over the decades, especially with issues we’ve been funding for a long time. And our voice is not being heard in some of the more substantive online spaces.

– Mitch Hurst, The Mott Foundation

Opinions among interviewees varied greatly about the likelihood that senior foundation leadership will fully embrace or adapt to the changes in technology—from pessimism that things will not change until the “old guard” retires, to optimism that there are leaders in executive suites and board rooms who will promote and encourage innovation.

“I don’t think it has to be viewed solely as a generational challenge,” said Jennifer Humke, communications officer for The John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. “There are a number of 60-plus-year-olds online and in philanthropy leadership who are willing to experiment and try things. There is a certain frame of mind that younger generations are willing to communicate in certain ways, but there are older leaders willing to embrace these technologies as well.”

Mitch Hurst, team leader – new media for the Charles Stewart Mott Foundation, summed up the imperative: “As long as foundations stay out of this space, their influence will be on the wane. We are missing opportunities to get our perspective included. We have a lot of knowledge we’ve learned over the decades, especially with issues we’ve been funding for a long time. And our voice is not being heard in some of the more substantive online spaces.”

Regardless of the age of the foundation leaders or their discomfort with new communication technologies, they ignore Web 2.0 communication methods at their peril. Foundations must adapt to, incorporate and welcome these new technologies, along with their attendant challenges and opportunities. Otherwise, they risk losing the support of the next generation of grantees, policymakers, philanthropists and stakeholders, and losing the ability to effectively promote their ideas and programs among the public at large.