Case Study

Sustainable Investing as Part of a 10-Year Spend Down at The John Merck Fund

Posted on August 7, 2023 by The John Merck Fund

When The John Merck Fund embarked on a 10-year spendout of its assets in 2012, the board aimed to maximize its grantmaking clout across four core program areas. The board also set another challenge: to finance the effort as much as possible with sustainable investments consistent with the Fund's philanthropic mission—and, what’s more, to do this without sacrificing market-rate returns… Read More

Lessons from Family Philanthropy: The Rockefeller Brothers Fund

Posted on January 3, 2022 by Rockefeller Brothers Fund

Launching a family foundation is often the expression of donors’ desires to establish a lasting legacy and to instill in future generations the importance of giving. But family foundations face certain common pitfalls as well. They may initially unite family members through a shared sense of mission that could become less shared as the family grows and diffuses over time… Read More

From Words to Action at Bainum Family Foundation

Posted on April 16, 2021 by PEAK Grantmaking

The principles guiding one grantmaker’s successful efforts to tie practices to values, including practical methods for getting staff involved in the process and gathering the most relevant insight into your practices. Like many family foundations, the Bainum Family Foundation has been guided implicitly, from the start, by the life story and core beliefs of its founder. To make the leap… Read More

Case Study: Humility, Modesty, and Curiosity at the Barr Foundation

Posted on April 16, 2021 by PEAK Grantmaking

At the Barr Foundation, narrowing the power gap begins with their mission statement and stated values, by thoughtfully focusing on potential, and being a catalyst and steward. “Modesty and humility come from seeing what grantees are doing in the community, and that our role is a helping role: The impact that our grantees are making is what’s most important,” says… Read More

Community-Centric Youth Philanthropy: A Case Study of Greater Worcester Community Foundation’s Youth for Community Improvement Program

Posted on November 9, 2020 by Sheryl Seller, The Sillerman Center for the Advancement of Philanthropy

This case study aims to demonstrate how youth philanthropy can be an avenue to democratize philanthropy while it simultaneously benefits young people. We invite readers to explore Youth for Community Improvement, a youth grantmaking program at Greater Worcester Community Foundation, from the vantage points of young people who participate in the program and their adult supporters… Read More

Participatory Grantmaking Case Study: Durfee Foundation

Posted on August 25, 2020 by GrantCraft

Questions addressed include: What are your grantmaking and/or strategic priorities (in terms of geographic focus, issue, etc.)? Who decides the grantmaking priorities? The overall strategy for the fund? What’s the process by which these decisions are made? Is the participatory decision-making process the same for all grant types and sizes? If not, why? Who comprises your grantmaking selection panel(s)? How… Read More

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