Friday Rewind

1. Grantmakers Income Security Taskforce (GIST) has developed an online mapping tool to help illustrate to funders where investments are being made in policy, advocacy, and communications work in the states, and to help foster connections across those efforts. See the Map Here.
2. Compare and contrast. This article takes a look at two large capital projects — one at the Denver Art Museum and the other at the Metropolitan Museum of Art — and asks why do some capital projects succeed while others struggle? Read the Full Story Here.
3. Fluxx, a leading vertical-cloud software company focused on grants management announced the closing of a $16 million Series B financing led by Canvas Ventures, with participation from Kresge Foundation and Felicis Ventures. The new funding will be used to accelerate its growth and develop new produces for the philanthropic community. Read the Full Story Here.
4. A report released this week by New America details five guiding principals for practitioners using predictive analytics in higher education, with an emphasis on using data ethically. The five principals include having a vision and plan, building a supportive infrastructure, working to ensure proper use of data, designing predictive analytics models and algorithms to avoid bias, and meeting institutional goals by intervening with care. See the Full Report Here.
5. A recent study of the Metropolitan Chicago Nonprofit Merger Research Project uncovered what drives successful mergers and suggests that more nonprofits should consider mergers as a useful tool to increase impact. The study’s most important finding? In 88% of mergers they analyzed, in terms of achieving organizational goals and increasing impact, interviewees from both the acquired and the acquiring nonprofits felt that the organization was better off after the merger. See the Full Report Here.

Friday Rewind is published each Friday by NY Funders Alliance staff. To submit a story for the Friday Rewind, please email programs@nyfunders.org.