Good morning,
Last fall we engaged The Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) to survey the 90 organizations we have funded to date and an additional 85 organizations that have applied to the Foundation. We were eager to hear your feedback on the Foundation’s grantmaking approach, impact and your interactions with our team. An amazing 82% of our grantees and 48% of applicants responded—some of the highest results CEP has received. Thank you!
Our board and staff have taken time to carefully review your feedback to understand what we are doing well and what we can improve. Below is a summary of the feedback you provided and changes we’re making in response.
Your feedback comes at a critical time. We are in the process of creating our first strategic plan. While we are still determining our future direction, we’d like to share where we are and how we’re using your feedback to help us determine what’s next. If you’re interested in learning more, please join us for a webinar to continue the conversation.
In a few years we will repeat the CEP survey to gauge our progress. However, we always welcome the opportunity to talk with you about how we can work better together. We can only achieve our mission through authentic partnerships with organizations like yours. Thank you for working with us to improve our region’s health.
In partnership,
What you said we're doing well:
- strength of our relationships with grantees (rated in top 5% nationally!)
- impact on and understanding of the local community
- knowledge of the factors that influence nonprofits’ work
- participation in community initiatives and advocacy
- clear, consistent communications
- commitment to treating grantees with compassion, respect and dignity
- responsiveness and fairness
- approachable when grantees encounter challenges
- overall transparency and openness to ideas
- impact on grantees' organizations
- providing capacity building support
- helpful, low-pressure selection process
What you encouraged us to improve:
- more feedback on declinations
- more multiyear funding
- more general operating support
- perceived bias against smaller nonprofits
- broader view of health beyond healthcare/medical model
- more support beyond the grant; assistance with evaluation
- relevance of reporting process
Some recommendations are not feasible at this time given our grantmaking priorities. Here are the changes we are implementing in response to your feedback:
- increasing communication earlier with potential grantees – Coffee & Conversations
- reconsidering how capacity screening can unintentionally impact smaller nonprofits
- enhancing declination letters
- modifying board member requirement at site visits
- shining a light on evaluation throughout 2018 – Listen. Learn. Act.
- increasing health impact through strategic plan
Interested in continuing the discussion? Register for one of our upcoming webinars:
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Click here to read our full report from The Center for Effective Philanthropy
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