Tuesday, January 06, 2009
In order to achieve a deep and lasting impact on the communities we serve, the Haas, Jr. Fund relies on partnerships with organizations willing to tackle tough issues and try new ideas. The Fund is committed to two core values in our partnerships: providing respectful, courteous and timely service; and encouraging reflection and learning so grantees and the Fund itself can continually improve our shared work.
Motivated by these values, we conducted a survey of our grantees to assess our performance and gauge perceptions of the Fund compared to other foundations. Results show that, while we did well in some areas, we need to strengthen others. We have made several changes as a result of this feedback.
The Evelyn and Walter Haas, Jr. Fund is deeply grateful to our grantees who took the time to respond so thoughtfully to the survey. We appreciate their candor and helpful, constructive comments.
In 2004, we selected the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) based in Boston, MA, to survey our grantees. The Center has queried thousands of nonprofit organizations on their perceptions of their foundation funders for several years. They are able to compare responses across foundations. Several factors were examined, including grantmaking processes, grantee relations, impact of grants and assistance beyond the grant check. We received anonymous responses from 155 of our grantees in the survey. That's an 82 percent response rate--one of the highest rates received.
We learned the Fund is highly regarded for the quality of interactions between staff and grantees. Grantees feel comfortable approaching the foundation when problems arise. They also feel our staff members treat them fairly and are timely in their response to inquiries and requests for help.
We also heard grantees appreciate the professionalism of our program officers and value the expertise they bring to their fields, including their knowledge of the issues, players, policies and organizations. Grantees value our ability to convene key players and share best practices.
We heard loud and clear we need to improve our work in two key areas, and are making changes in the way we work with grantees.
Simplify the grantmaking process: We heard the Fund requests more information and has a more intense and time-consuming process than most foundations. While we continue to want a process that allows for a deep exchange that promotes reflection and stimulates alternative approaches, we also understand the need to streamline the grantmaking process and reduce the amount of time required to complete it. As a result, we are simplifying our grant application packet, reducing the type and amount of information we request, and paying closer attention to the time we require of applicants.
Better communications: While grantees value one-on-one communication with program officers, they also want us to do a more effective job of communicating our mission and program strategies so they can better understand how they might partner with the Fund. In response to this feedback, we have posted more detailed program guidelines on our current website, are launching a more comprehensive website in summer 2005, and are producing an annual report that better explains our values and philanthropic aspirations.
In summary, the survey gave us specific input we've used as a basis for conversations with staff and trustees. This has led to concrete changes in the way we do our work. We hope to repeat the survey in a few years to gauge improvement. In the meantime, we welcome any additional feedback grantees might have on how we can be a better partner and how together we can have a greater impact.