Talent Development Secondary is among 19 nonprofits selected to receive a $60,000 grant for the Listen for Good project from the Fund for Shared Insight and the Edna McConnell Clark Foundation.

First Cohort of ‘Listen for Good’ Grantees Announced
Fund for Shared Insight selects 19 nonprofits to pilot new feedback initiative;
13 co‐funders support first round of grants

NEW YORK— Fund for Shared Insight today announced its inaugural cohort of Listen for Good grantees, which includes a diverse group of 19 nonprofits that directly serve people in communities across the U.S.

Listen for Good, a collaborative effort among several funders, is dedicated to building the practice of listening to the people nonprofits and foundations seek to help. In its first year, the initiative will develop simple and systematic ways of obtaining feedback from nonprofits that receive foundation funding, as well as help nonprofits obtain input from the people they directly serve.

The nonprofits selected for the first round, listed below, range in budget sizes, focus areas, and geographies.

• Anixter Center
• ArtworxLA
• A Step Ahead
• Blue Engine
• Blue Ribbon Commission
• Boys and Girls Club of Peninsula
• Greater Boston Legal Services
• Habitat for Humanity Greater San Francisco
• Homeport
• Neighborhood Housing Services of Chicago
• New Door Ventures
• Nurse Family Partnership
• Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma
• Second Harvest Food Bank of Santa Clara and San Mateo Counties
• Shelby Residential and Vocational Services (SRVS)
• TALENT DEVELOPMENT SECONDARY
• The Village fro Families and Children
• Union Capital Boston
• United Way of Buffalo and Erie County

Each of the 13 co‐funders involved with Listen for Good nominated one or more of these grantees, and committed $20,000 per organization in support.

The Plough Foundation is among the funders supporting this first round of grantees, and is sponsoring some of the smaller, more regionally‐focused organizations that have signed on. “We are delighted to partner with and learn alongside the Fund for Shared Insight and other Listen for Good co‐funders about how to do a better job of systematically hearing from the people we and our grantees seek to help,” said Mike Carpenter, Executive Director of the Plough Foundation. The grantmaking of the Plough Foundation reflects the many pressing social and economic issues facing Memphis and Shelby County. Recognizing that the needs of a community are constantly shifting, the Foundation maintains the flexibility to respond to those changes.

The Edna McConnell Clark Foundation (EMCF), which is dedicated to improving outcomes for underserved youth, is another co‐funder involved with the initiative. “We are excited that four of our
grantees, through Listen for Good, will now be able to more systematically collect feedback from the young people they serve and augment the outcomes data they already measure,” noted Lissette
Rodriguez, Vice President, Programs at EMCF. “We believe this new feedback loop will help our grantees gather more useful information on how to improve the quality of the programs and ultimately achieve better outcomes for youth.”

Listen for Good will explore new and different ways to engage with the perspectives, experiences and ideas shared through high quality feedback loops. The initiative focuses on applying the Net Promoter System℠ (NPS®), which has been used widely in customer feedback circles, to help nonprofits gather feedback from the people they seek to help. Ultimately, Listen for Good will capture and share lessons learned with grantees, co‐funders, and the field to improve the feedback movement and inform future efforts.

Listen for Good is currently accepting proposals from funder‐nominated nonprofits on a rolling basis. For the latest information on grant availability, or to submit a proposal, visit the Listen for Good page at www.fundforsharedinsight.org/listen‐for‐good.

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About the Fund for Shared Insight
Fund for Shared Insight (“Shared Insight”) is a collaborative effort among funders that pools financial and other resources to make grants to improve philanthropy. Shared Insight emerged from a belief that foundations will be more effective and make an even bigger difference in the world if they are open to listening to others and sharing lessons learned. Shared Insight provides grants to nonprofit organizations to encourage and incorporate feedback from the people they seek to help; understand the connection between feedback and better results; foster more openness between and among foundations and grantees; and share lessons learned. Fund for Shared Insight welcomes additional funders to learn more about our effort. For more information, visit www.fundforsharedinsight.org or contact Melinda Tuan at melinda@fundforsharedinsight.org.