Before you can improve your foundation’s listening practices, you need to understand where you stand today. The Funder Listening Assessment from Listen to Community partner Fund for Shared Insight helps you do exactly that — offering a structured way to examine your current approaches and identify opportunities for growth.
An honest look at your listening practices
The assessment walks you through 12 questions in three areas:
- Motivation and mindset — what drives your foundation’s approach to listening and what assumptions shape your work.
- Listening in practice — how listening happens day to day, and how accessible and resourced those practices are.
- Response and accountability — what happens after you listen, how your foundation follows through, and who you’re accountable to.
Your answers don’t add up to a score or a benchmark; the assessment is intended to be an internal learning tool. Each question shows what practices look like at three levels — beginning, developing, and embedded — helping you spot patterns in your work and identify opportunities for growth.
Getting started
You can complete the assessment on your own or with colleagues — ideally including team members with different roles and perspectives. You might also revisit the tool over time in order to track how your practices and values are evolving. Try the assessment and see what conversations it sparks. It’s a powerful and valuable first step toward listening to community and shifting philanthropy for good.
