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Kellogg Action Lab

Insights

August 2008

KelloggActionLab

When we were asked to be featured in the Alliance’s conference highlights Insights edition, we were of course thrilled with the opportunity to share our Kellogg Action Lab (KAL) experience with an even broader audience than the attendees in the conference session. The first two years of this three year project have been all about what the name itself represents – an “Action Lab.” We have been truly learning as we go, listening to the organizations we are striving to strengthen and encouraging both these organizations and ourselves to think about the sector as a whole in new ways.

The Kellogg Action Lab was initiated in June 2006, by a $9.3 million, three-year grant from the W.K. Kellogg Foundation (WKKF) to Fieldstone Alliance (FA), who would work in partnership with the Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) to build the capacity of WKKF grantees and strengthen the nonprofit/philanthropic sector.

The theory behind KAL is that organizations striving for health and sustainability KAL 3 must maintain a balance among three key components – mission, capacity, and capital.

In order to raise awareness of these critical components and their dynamic connection, we focus our energy on the following three activities:

Marketplace: Our commitment to getting everything we learn from the Lab out to the sector
Innovative Practice Fund: A pool of money to invest in new ideas that hold great potential for moving the sector forward
Learning Lab: The real heart and soul of the project, this includes all the services provided to WKKF grantees

WKKF grantees can opt-in to KAL services at varying levels of time and energy commitment. At the most resource-intensive level, participants can access financial support for consulting services. On a more mid-intensity level, participants can send staff to regional convenings on issues identified by the participants themselves (this years topics are Communications & Marketing and Financial Sustainability). The easiest way for a participants to benefit from KAL is to login to the participant website where they can peruse a database of Knowledge Resources – resources available to participants at a low-cost or no-cost basis (e.g., conferences, subscriptions, publications, etc.). In addition, registered organizations with operating budgets under $1 million receive a $750 mini-grant to help purchase these resources.

We are aware that the attendees to the Alliance session were particularly interested in KAL’s College of Consultants – the national, vetted pool of consultants available to engage with WKKF grantees in capacity building work. In October 2008, these consultants will be gathering in the Twin Cities to begin planning ways for this network to be even more mutually-beneficial to grantees and the consultants themselves. Interested nonprofit consultants can apply for the College at www.kelloggactionlab.org.

With a year to go still in this initial round of funding, we are excited about the feedback we are getting from grantees. Applications for consultations roll in to our inbox daily as do registrations for the convenings we are hosting and proposals for IPF with truly ground-breaking ideas. The view from here is exciting as we see organizations of all sizes, ages, and issues positioning themselves to do their work more effectively. Mindful that the whole is only as strong as its parts, Kellogg Action Lab is strengthening the sector the best way we know how – one organization at a time. At the same time, we are taking full advantage of the sector-wide perspective we have to serve as a driving force and collaborative voice behind innovation occurring at every level in the sector.

For more information on the Kellogg Action Lab, visit us at: www.kelloggactionlab.org or email us at KAL@FieldstoneAlliance.org. We would be happy to hear from you!

KAL by the Numbers

In one year of services being provided through KAL (July 1, 2007 – June 31, 2008):

659 out of 1332 eligible WKKF grantees have registered (49.5%)
237 Knowledge Resource grants of $750 approved ($177,750)
79 capacity-building consultation grants have been awarded
Total granted: $1,568,935 Average grant size = $22,738
Including activities such as financial planning, legal training, communications planning, organizational assessment, strategic planning, fund development & revenue diversification, etc.
2 Innovative Practice Fund grants to have been awarded (total = $61,435)
52 additional participating organizations are in dialogue with KAL regarding a capacity-building consultation grant
2 regional convenings have brought over 100 staff members of participating organizations together around the topic of communications and marketing. 2 more regional convenings on the topic of financial sustainability are planned for 2008 and 2 more convenings will be held in 2009
115 consultants have been accepted to the College of Consultants

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