As the Foundation approached its 50th Anniversary, The Bridgespan Group was asked to document the lessons learned from the Foundation’s recent engagements in donor collaborations.
For decades, the Packard Foundation has worked with dozens of other funders and understands that individual efforts are often not enough to address complex social problems. Today, the Packard Foundation participates in over 60 donor collaborations in five program areas and takes part in additional partnerships that span multiple programmatic areas. The Bridgespan Group’s research found that while each donor collaboration is unique, all share an underlying rationale: collaboration can yield results beyond what the Packard Foundation could accomplish alone. When well executed, donor collaborations magnify the sum of each partner’s contributions and produce results beyond the reach of any single donor, as well as present an opportunity for the Foundation to learn from others.
The Bridgespan Group’s report and accompanying case studies, Lessons in Funder Collaboration: What the Packard Foundation Has Learned about Working with Other Funders, highlights strategic and practical considerations for using collaborative partnerships to magnify impact and facilitate learning through documenting six Packard Foundation donor collaborations.
