Grantmaking Strategy and Evaluation

Executive director’s annual performance review

Posted on December 8, 2014

Planning & Organizing: Demonstrates an understanding of the Foundation’s mission and priorities; establishes effective courses of action to implement the goals and objectives set forth in the strategic plan. Judgement & Decisiveness: Makes well-timed and sound decisions; meets deadlines; solves problems promptly; sets appropriate priorities for tasks. Initiative: Sets high goals/standards of performance for self and others; originates action rather… Read More

Global Giving: Making a World of Difference

Posted on October 29, 2014 by Paula Johnson

This monograph describes through donors' stories the possibilities of global giving. For anyone who is interested in addressing issues beyond our borders, it offers a look at the new infrastructure that has emerged to promote and respond to donors' global interests and provides comprehensive information on the institutions that can help them get involved… Read More

Mission Related Investments Policy (Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation)

Posted on October 16, 2014 by Mary Reynolds Babcock Foundation

The field of mission investing is changing rapidly, and the Foundation is in the process of learning and implementing criteria for investments that are consistent with our purpose and values.  Our Investment Committee considers options for market-rate Mission-Related Investments (MRIs) when it reviews asset allocation and conducts new manager searches. MRIs are expected to achieve competitive financial returns and meet… Read More

Does Mission- Related Investing Need to Become Mainstream Before it is Considered Acceptable?

Posted on October 9, 2014 by John Hawkins, Tomer Inbar

Do legal constructs based on the prudent caution of an ordinary person in a similar position imply that mission- related investing must become mainstream before becoming acceptable, a chicken-and-egg, Catch- 22? [Author: Tomer Inbar and John Hawkins] Tomer Inbar: You should think about your portfolio as a whole, how this class of assets fits in, and make sure that, overall,… Read More

What is the Biggest Danger or Red Light to Think About with Regard to Mission Investing?

Posted on October 9, 2014 by Melanie Audette, Tomer Inbar, Tony Wells

What, if anything, is the biggest danger or red light to think about with regard to mission investing? And how do we avoid them? Tony Wells: Before going into the red lights of mission investing, it is worth mentioning that in nine years of mission investing at the Wells Foundation there has been a 100% return on our non-profit loans… Read More

How Does the Divesting Strategy Work Within Mission Investing, and How Do We Evaluate Its Success?

Posted on October 9, 2014 by Melanie Audette

DivestInvest  is a national movement that has signatories looking at divestment of fossil fuels from their portfolio. There are 64 foundations signed on at the DivestInvest.org website and there are resources about divestment strategies there, as well. At the same time, it’s just as important, if not more so, to look at opportunities to invest in alternative strategies for energy… Read More

How do you measure impact or potential impact when deciding how to be most effective?

Posted on October 9, 2014 by Melanie Audette, Tomer Inbar, Tony Wells

How do you measure impact or potential impact when deciding how to be most effective, particularly when comparing the strategy of maximizing investment returns to having more money for grants versus impact investing? Melanie Audette:This starts with where you are in the process. You should think about your mission and how you are evaluating your grants, and take the same… Read More

What Are Recoverable Grants?

Posted on October 9, 2014 by Tony Wells

Recoverable grants may be used to address concerns of non-profit boards that are hesitant to take on any type of debt. Some boards may have a policy that they’re not willing to take on debt, no matter what the upside is. We’ve had several situations where we became creative with our approach. We would say, “Okay, we really believe in… Read More

How Can I Help My Board Members Understand the Long- Term Nature of Impact Investing?

Posted on October 9, 2014 by Tomer Inbar, Tony Wells

Tomer Inbar: To start with a short anecdote, a client of mine and I were talking about their first program-related investment (PRI) that was going to go under. Although they had a successful program-related investment portfolio, she had to go to the investment committee where her PRIs were managed and tell them that they believed that this company was going… Read More

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