Posts by Beth Owens

Immediately after the Thanksgiving break, we signed an agreement that added to the holiday spirit for me as well as the small but mighty Leap of Reason team. Here’s the backstory. Last March, I met Tiziano Tazzi, the president of Milan-basedFondazione Lang Italia (FLI), in Washington, DC. We learned that Tiziano had established the foundation…

You probably didn’t expect to get an email from me with a title like this, given my penchant for breaking the mold. But I’ve become increasingly frustrated with the many conversations in our sector that celebrate wonderful new models or reforms but ignore what it really takes to bring new ideas to fruition: the talent,…

On September 20, this aging Italian took a small step (through an intimidating Secret Service security gauntlet) to join a distinguished group of social sector leaders at theWhite House Forum on Philanthropy Innovation. I shared an idea that, if brought to fruition, could represent a giant leap forward for our sector. I challenged all the…

As families like ours buy school supplies, find out class assignments, and transition back to the barely controlled chaos of the academic year, we are also gearing up for a busy fall of sharing the Leap of Reason message with public and private sector leaders around the country. Our efforts to spread the Leap gospel…

This month, I want to start off with some optimism rather than being that guy with the fire hose dousing the campfire. In my most recent column, “Why We Need a Mass ’Missouri’ Movement,” I reference the famous 1899 quotation by Rep. Duncan Vandiver that gave Missouri its state slogan: “Frothy eloquence neither convinces nor…

This month I will lead off by thanking the Communications Factory, in Hiram, OH, for doing a great job of condensing my address to the City Club of Cleveland into a quick-hitter five-minute video. We realize that a YouTube video of a pontificating funder can’t possibly compete with skateboarding dogs and sneezing pandas. But we…

A year ago this week, we at Venture Philanthropy Partners (VPP) launched Leap of Reason. We cautiously hoped that a few thousand leaders would find our little chartreuse book (one colleague quipped that it’s the color of “radioactive broccoli”) to be of practical value for their work. A year later, the physical or digital book…

Our subject line reflects the title of the passionate and personal speech Mario just finished giving at The City Club of Cleveland, based heavily on his work with Venture Philanthropy Partners. He’s handling Q&A right now, so we appropriated his email account to send out this message. We’re biased of course, but we think the…

I gave a speech at the City Club of Cleveland (my hometown) at 12:30 EDT on Friday, April 27. You can watch the rebroadcast of the speech as well as read the prepared remarks. The speech seeks to lift up the Leap of Reason message—from one about outcomes assessment and performance management to one that…

I’ve got a classic chicken-or-egg challenge for you. For an organization to make “the leap of reason,” which comes first: courageous nonprofit leadership or courageous, results-driven funding? In my column this month in VPPNews—and in a speech I will deliver next month at the Cleveland City Club (we’ll send a link to the webcast when…