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“It’s been an ongoing challenge,” said Teri Behrens,
editor of The Foundation Review published by the
Dorothy A. Johnson Center for Philanthropy at Grand
Valley State University, of trying to bring the journal
into the electronic age while most of its readers prefer a
printed copy. “Subscribers tell us they want hard copies.
They want full color and graphics. For now, we still need
to produce a printed piece.”
The Foundation Review is the first peer-reviewed
journal of philanthropy, written by and for foundation
staff and boards and those who work with them
implementing programs. It publishes quarterly and
has an international distribution of about 1,000, which
includes a mix of foundation staff members, faculty
members, researchers, and practitioners. The mission
of the journal is to share evaluation results, tools, and
knowledge about the philanthropic sector in order to
improve the practice of grantmaking, yielding greater
impact and innovation. It provides rigorous research
and writing, presented in an accessible style; “My
mantra is rigorous, but readable,” Behrens said.
“We do a lot of traditional marketing like direct mail
and attending conferences,” said Behrens, who joined
the Johnson Center in 2009 after previously serving as
director of evaluation for the W.K. Kellogg Foundation,
consulting for the NSF-supported Industry/University
Cooperative Research Centers, and working for
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the Michigan Department of Commerce. “That old
fashioned, one-on-one marketing works best for us, so
being able to bring a copy of the journal is important.”
There is also a financial challenge to publishing
the journal electronically. “Open access is really
interesting,” said Behrens, who earned her Ph.D. in
psychology. “There has been a lot of talk about it, but
no way to make it financially viable unless you downplay
production values and have a large proportion of
subscribers in foundations and libraries.” The journal
solicits advertising to help offset production and
printing costs.
To find a 21st century solution to her challenge, Behrens
has worked closely with Grand Valley’s University
Libraries. “We are shifting to ScholarWorks for
electronic distribution,” said Behrens. “ScholarWorks
will let us manage online subscriptions and make past
issues available free to a wider audience. We are excited
about the feature that will allow comments on articles.
We will use that feature in conjunction with webinars
to foster discussion, so the peer review process doesn’t
stop with publication. It also will save a few thousand
dollars compared to our current electronic distribution.”
The journal also is looking into tablet, app, or Webbased
delivery of the journal. “The staff at the library,
especially Sarah Beaubien, has been tremendously
helpful. We’re forging new territory here.”
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