A foundation executive director, I am sharing four lessons about how to evaluate outcomes more effectively. The points that follow are not complex ideas. To many, they probably seem obvious. As is often the case for me, the mere act of recording them provided me with new insights. Find the right approach for your work... Read More
As a direct result of a dramatic increase in the foundation’s asset base, the Hutton Foundation decided to offer program related investments (PRIs) to nonprofit organizations. This growth necessitated a quick increase in annual distributions to meet the 5% annual payout requirement set by the Internal Revenue Service. A portion of the foundation’s annual distributions... Read More
It is always a good policy to have a grant agreement with grant recipients—not for when the grant goes well but, rather, for when it does not. With a grant agreement in place, it is easier to monitor a grant for performance according to the application, to see if anticipated outcomes are achieved, and to... Read More
With just a bit of time and effort to review nonprofits’ financials, you will get to know organizations better and choose those best equipped to create the changes you seek. Terms to know Assets represent what the nonprofit owns—Current assets are the sum of all assets that could be converted to cash in less than... Read More
A fairly simple review using any of the following sources will give you information about a nonprofit’s finances. As you get more comfortable with financials or seek detailed information about particular organizations, you can examine financials more extensively: Charity rating services—These Web-based rating services are great starting points for information about nonprofits you are considering.... Read More
In its report On the Money, Grantmakers for Effective Organizations describes several financial challenges faced by nonprofits: Restrictions on funding—Despite the importance of infrastructure to nonprofits’ success, grantmakers overwhelmingly prefer to support the direct delivery of programs and services. The result is an underinvestment in the infrastructure nonprofits need to sustain and grow, such as... Read More