GENERAL CONSIDERATIONS

Nonprofit organizations and public agencies implementing 2Gen approaches at the highest level must identify the family’s goals and track outcomes for the children and adults in the family at the same time.

Funders often underestimate the complexity of what’s needed to implement and evaluate a fully integrated 2Gen approach. For example, they minimize the complexity of measuring outcomes for 2Gen approaches. There is wide variation across 2Gen approaches; they are heterogeneous, and each initiative is unique. The primary target audiences of 2Gen approaches may differ, and therefore the services offered will vary. Services can be embedded in programs that serve either children or adults or both. This variation can impact pace and overall client outcomes. 2Gen approaches require intensity, intentionality, and quality, which take time.

There is a growing understanding that it takes time for 2Gen approaches to mature and produce outcomes. Some funders are beginning to understand that more time is needed because of all the different facets of 2Gen approaches and the iterative nature of the implementation process. Providers and funders are realizing that the timeframe for 2Gen approaches to mature and produce outcomes tends to be longer due to the involvement of multiple organizations, agencies, or systems that need aligning.

2Gen approaches aim to address intergenerational poverty. This is a long-term goal that will not be achieved overnight. According to a funder, it takes a few years to put everything in place and see the results. Funders must recognize that organizational capacity must be built before benefits to families can be measured.

We know that long-term commitment is really important for sustainability and for impact. What we’re learning through our grantmaking in 2Gen whole-family approaches is that it takes a long time for an agency to move from a siloed approach to a 2Gen approach.”

Daniel DuHamel, Margaret A. Cargill Philanthropies

Increasing awareness and advocacy about 2Gen approaches and the work of their grantees is an important role funders can play. Since government grants generally do not pay for communications, funders can step in to tell the story of the important work their grantees are performing, including bringing government officials to 2Gen organizations, generating media interest in program and family outcomes, and discussing 2Gen approaches with other funders.

Convenings have been identified by both funders and grantees as an important and productive approach that connects grantees with new and sometimes unusual partners. Funders have the power to engage a variety of partners and encourage new partnerships.

Technical assistance (TA) has long been a standard, overarching strategy for assisting 2Gen pilots and initiatives. Technical assistance is the process of providing targeted support to an organization with a development need or problem. It is an effective method for building the capacity of an organization. It involves transferring knowledge or building skills and can include hands-on support, training, peer-to-peer learning, coaching, facilitation, webinars, and resources such as toolkits and briefs. Investment is needed to ensure technical assistance is tailored to recipients’ needs and contexts, is co-designed with recipients, and provides concrete and actionable steps. 

Funders are in an ideal position to deploy philanthropic dollars to connect various stakeholders engaged in 2Gen approaches. Aligning organizations or agencies that have different missions and goals is no easy feat and often requires staffing or structures to facilitate coordination. Philanthropic dollars can support a 2Gen coordinator or resources to support 2Gen group convenings.

Many funders struggle to find the right balance between using a trust-based approach with grantees and tracking outcomes. It is a difficult dilemma, as summarized by one funder: “I don’t know the answer. I’m struggling. I am not all in with just giving the money, not asking any questions, and assuming all will be great.”

Some acknowledge that their current tracking and reporting procedures are onerous. Others rely exclusively on trust-based philanthropy, acknowledging that grantees know their communities and how to best serve them and that the rigors of conventional tracking and reporting are unnecessary. Some funders are taking a middle-of-the-road approach in which they ask their grantees to tell them what they want to measure, rather than dictating what needs to be measured. 

Many public and private funders are working to make their grantmaking process more flexible. The Colorado Department of Human Services (CO DHS) provides an example of how the process can be simplified, more user-friendly, and more accessible to grassroots organizations. Among the changes it made:

• Analyzing funding recipients by redesigning the RFP template to track whom DHS are funding. 
• Aligning budget years with state and federal fiscal years, which greatly simplified processes, especially when blending funding sources. 
• Offering a variety of ways to submit reports (including video submissions or site visits) and allowing reports to be submitted in Spanish.
• Providing technical assistance by offering a training video on its website and hiring someone whose sole responsibility is technical assistance. 

Additional considerations for programmatic and policy and systems change funding, and funders new to 2Gen approaches, can be found in the full report.

Whole Family Approaches to Economic Mobility: A Funder’s Guide to Supporting Multigenerational Policy and Practice

Funders considering making 2Gen investments are encouraged to review a toolkit developed specifically for grantmakers: Whole Family Approaches to Economic Mobility: A Funder’s Guide to Supporting Multigenerational Policy and Practice by the Women’s Funding Network (WFN). 

This toolkit was made possible through a partnership between WFN and Ascend at the Aspen Institute with funding from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation. The toolkit provides a guide based on the experiences and research of women’s funds and philanthropy from across the country that are investing in families and communities with a whole-family focus. It offers tools and resources to address community needs through multigenerational family programming and policies.