We approach grantmaking with the following guidelines in mind

• There is a clear opportunity for systemic change and/or significant scale. 

  There is important and useful work being done in so many places in our community. Our charter is to determine whether we believe action in a specific area will change the outcomes in a meaningful way. We address this guideline by making grants that either bring a promising opportunity to scale or provide a chance to test something that may have far-reaching implications. 

• Leadership is outstanding.
   
• There is a viable strategy for long-term sustainability.

  Even if a pilot delivers the desired outcomes, program pilots are only valuable if when successful, they are adopted at scale. At the outset, key stakeholders must be in agreement on outcomes measurement and the financial means for long term implementation. 

  We believe that an important piece of our role is to bring key stakeholders around the table to think together about the issue being addressed. Working through a wide range of issues and potential pitfalls up front increases the likelihood of success. 

• Specific outcomes have been defined, third party evaluation has been or will be engaged; transparency of data is a must.
  

  Other important things to know about our grantmaking process

  1. We do not accept unsolicited proposals. Since our goal is to be in touch with many members of the community, we expect to learn about opportunities through these regular conversations. We welcome ideas and introductions to promising leaders.
  2. Our consideration and decision making process involves a cooperative, intensive planning process with key players. Together we think through possible opportunities and plans. The conversation can often be long and intensive, and the end result is not always a grant, but we have learned that the planning process itself is critical to vetting opportunities and strategies.
  3. We stay close to our grantees. Our hope is that, in addition to funding, an important contribution on our part is to assist grantees with strategic planning, advice, tactical decision making and useful connections.
  4. We value partnership with other funders. A key part of our thought process in considering a grant is what other funding organizations we can work with, and how the organization will sustain the work over the long term. We value ideas and collaboration with other organizations involved in similar funding.