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Office brings philanthropy, government together
By ANN RICHARDS
Just as Michigan’s governor made her first executive cuts to the 2003 state budget, Karen Aldridge-Eason began her job as the state’s first foundation liaison.
“In retrospect, the timing couldn’t have been better,” Aldridge-Eason said.
“Right away, we were getting all kinds of calls from people worried about their funding, their programs. We had the opportunity to explain our goals, to begin nurturing partnerships.”
After almost five years on the job, Aldridge-Eason continues to be gratified by how open government and foundation employees are to working together and learning from each other.
“Both sides are very forthright and genuinely interested in helping each other. The consensus seems to be that if someone else can help them figure it out — good.”
Tough economic times in Michigan could have resulted in chaotic relationships between funders and state and elected officials.
“In a lousy economy, everyone looks to foundations for replacement dollars,” said Robert Collier, president and CEO of the Council of Michigan Foundations, which acts as fiduciary for the liaison office.
“Having someone like Karen — who interfaces with the governor’s cabinet and who understands philanthropy — is extremely valuable to us. She’s an effective foil for both sides.”
Before accepting the position as the country’s first, cabinet-level foundation liaison, Aldridge-Eason directed Michigan's Office of Health and Human Services at the Department of Management and Budget and served as budget director for the City of Flint. Aldridge-Eason, currently on loan from the Mott Foundation, credits her training as a program officer and director, as well as those earlier jobs with state and city governments, as good preparation for the responsibilities of her office.
The Office of Foundation Liaison was established through a joint agreement between Michigan foundations and the governor’s office.
It is charged with identifying innovative funding partnerships and strategic collaborations that align with the priorities of the government and the foundations.
During its short history, the office has been instrumental in bringing together state policymakers, foundation leaders and elected officials to explore and identify solutions to issues affecting Michigan’s children and their families.
The task of bringing foundations of all sizes into partnerships with the state has been highly satisfying, says Aldridge-Eason.
“Early on, state agencies came looking for funding for major projects. But most of Michigan’s foundations don’t fund at the state level; they fund locally or regionally. The challenge was to help state officials realize that most innovation and change occur there, and that it can be linked and leveraged.”
For example, in collaboration with the JEHT Foundation in New York and Michigan’s Prisoner Re-Entry Initiative, eight community foundations in Michigan are partners in rolling out pilot projects aimed at reducing the $117-million annual cost of housing repeat offenders. The initiative also has the goals of reducing crime and enhancing public safety by creating a system of transition, reintegration and aftercare services in local communities.
“That’s where foundation dollars can be most effective. Philanthropy can provide money for pilot projects, strategic planning, importing expertise, or putting together convenings and briefings,” Aldridge-Eason said.
“As state government has cut back, more and more time is spent dealing with the latest crisis. There’s less and less time to do research around best practices.
“Our challenge has been to try — in a compressed amount of time — to help the state and local funders build the relationships and trust needed to solve problems in a systemic and organized way.”
Maura Dewan, who manages the liaison office in Lansing, serves as an information broker, scheduler and facilitator.
“I can get information to people when they need it — get them the right name, the right contact information. Making those connections, seeing partnerships begin to take off — that’s the rewarding part of my job.”
The liaison office has been able to remove some of the “mystique” that surrounds foundations and government entities and sometimes acts as a barrier to communication, Dewan said.
“Through this office, we’ve been able — in a lot of cases — to put a face on a foundation or a branch of government. We’ve been able to help state officials understand that foundations have a lot more to offer than money. They have information, expertise and models that they’re willing to share.”
It always starts with a conversation, says Aldridge-Eason. The key is creating a “safe place” where people can speak with candor.
“Through those early conversations, we are able to identify common ground — nuggets of opportunity. We’re able to begin to negotiate, to offer alternatives, to provide a different perspective that can produce a shared vision.”
Aldridge-Eason’s ability to help state leadership understand that philanthropic dollars can’t substitute for state dollars was a major reason the Frey Foundation in Grand Rapids recently agreed to provide support for the liaison office.
“Karen has played a constructive role in helping foundations understand where they can be of use,” Frey President Milt Rohwer said. “She’s helped us understand where the state is constrained by budget deficits. She’s helped foundations identify strategic issues — such as early childhood and land protection in the Upper Peninsula — where they can work together.”
An 11-member advisory committee provides oversight and counsel.
“The committee has been a great sounding board for me,” Aldridge-Eason said.
“One of the most difficult challenges I face in this job is keeping my objectivity. We are involved in very internal, private discussions with both government and philanthropy. We keep confidences on both sides. Whenever I question my neutrality about a project or a situation, the committee has stepped in with advice and help.”
David Egner, president and CEO of the Hudson-Webber Foundation in Detroit, is chair of the advisory committee. He had proposed the liaison position between state government and foundations, modeled on a position created by former Detroit Mayor Dennis Archer in that city.
In 2002, Egner, along with David Campbell, president of the Detroit-based McGregor Fund, approached newly elected Governor Jennifer Granholm about creating a cabinet-level position that would foster information flow and cooperation between the state and its philanthropic sector.
Granholm, who inherited a multimillion-dollar structural deficit when she took office, expressed interest, particularly if Egner could come up with funding for the position, which he proceeded to do. The Hudson-Webber, Kellogg, Kresge, Mott and Skillman foundations and the McGregor Fund agreed to provide multiyear funding to inaugurate the experiment. The annual budget is currently $400,000, supported by 15 foundations.
The office has been responsible for attracting more than $40 million in foundation support for state initiatives dealing with health, school reform, workforce development, early childhood education and prisoner re-entry.
While proud of the dollar contributions made through her office, Aldridge-Eason says focusing on money as its only measure of success distorts its value as a national model.
“Of course the money is important, but the long-term value of building cooperative relationships and informational networks should not be underestimated, particularly as administrations come and go.”
Since 2005, annual evaluations of the office have been produced by Mary McDonald, a principal investigator for the Community Research Institute at Grand Valley State University in Allendale.
More than 90 percent of the 185 stakeholders working in government and philanthropy who were surveyed for the initial evaluation agreed that partnerships between government and philanthropy improve the efficiency of state government. Ninety-five percent agreed that it is important to be involved in this type of collaboration. Those numbers held steady in subsequent evaluations.
Aldridge-Eason said the evaluations have affirmed the critical role that networking can play in shaping policy and encouraging change.
“Foundations are institutions that can set change in motion. They can provide the risk dollars to test models and new ideas that the state then can use to change policies to better serve the public.”