In partnership with the Minnesota Council on Foundations, Grantmakers for Education was pleased to present a special half-day program featuring funder-to-funder discussion and debate about the advantages and pitfalls of funder collaboration in education. The program was organized around a robust case study seminar featuring GFE's case study on the Donors' Education Collaborative of New York and James Honan, one of Harvard University's most popular case study leaders.

As part of GFE's work to help our members become more effective grantmakers, we 've been developing case studies designed to encourage debate and discussion about effective grantmaking strategies and to complement our Principles for Effective Education Grantmaking with real examples from the field (view all of the cases at www.edfunders.org/knowledge/eeg.asp). GFE's case study on the Donors' Education Collaborative explores how the collaborative, which pools its members' financial resources and expertise to advance shared grantmaking goals, has fueled advocacy efforts for better public education in the city. The case study illustrates the importance—and challenges—of leverage, influence and collaboration, one of GFE's eight Principles for Effective Education Grantmaking.

This highly interactive seminar helped participants surface lessons and observations from the case study—and encouraged you to reflect on your own grantmaking practices and how your organization could work with other funders. It probed key questions about how funder coordination and collaboration works in practice: the challenges, risks and opportunities inherent in collaborative education grantmaking efforts, and the contextual factors, structures and strategies that facilitate effective, collaborative grantmaking.

Program attendees were required to read in advance the GFE case study, Working Together to Achieve Greater Impact: The Donors' Education Collaborative of New York City.

Agenda and Location:

Jackson Room
Traveler's Insurance
385 Washington St.
St. Paul, MN

8:30 a.m.: Check-in

9:00 a.m.: Welcome and Introductions

9:30 a.m: Considerations in Funder Collaboration (Bill Porter, Grantmakers in Education)

10:15 a.m.: Break

10:30 a.m.: Case study discussion: "Working Together to Achieve Greater Impact — The Donors Education Collaborative in NYC" (James Honan, Harvard Graduate School of Education)

Noon: Lunch and networking with colleagues