We approach grantmaking with the following guidelines in mind:

1. There is a clear opportunity for systemic change.
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 for a significant number of children in our community 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 we believe will have far reaching implications.

2. The issue is ripe.
We believe that in order for there to be systemic change on an issue, there must be focus on it from a base of interested constituents. Therefore, we consider whether key constituents are actively engaged in the discussion of the problem and resources are already committed. We look for public awareness of the issue and for it to be seen as an important social problem.

3. There is the opportunity for collaboration and action among key stakeholders.
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.

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.

2. We do not use a written grantmaking process. Our decisionmaking process involves a cooperative, intensive planning process with key players. Together we think through possible solutions and opportunities. 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 useful to all key players in thinking through 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 fundees with strategic planning, tactical decisionmaking and useful connections in the community.

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.