Why the 4Cs Framework

What is the value of infrastructure support organizations serving philanthropy? That was a key question, and area for further work, identified on WINGS report Infrastructure in Focus: A Global Picture of Organizations Serving Philanthropy. To start answering the question, the report identified (through a survey of foundations worldwide) some of the main benefits of philanthropy support organizations including how they support foundations achieve their mission, how they help develop practice, how they influence their operating environment.  It was recognised that much of the support is not always tangible because oftentimes, it relates to processes and relationships.  As a result much, of this invisible work is under-valued and under-funded.

The need to develop an enabling framework for infrastructure organisations to use to measure the changes to the field that they are working in was evident.  This became the starting point for a joint WINGS and DAFNE peer-learning process which involved 25 organizations over an 18 month time period. Through this experience, participants learned by adapting and testing materials from our meeting, which in turn, ensured that the 4Cs Framework was built by the field, for use by the field.

Application of the 4Cs framework will help those involved in infrastructure support for philanthropy to not only measure their effectiveness in order to account for themselves, but also to learn and improve in a more systematic way.