Natalie EgletonProgram Manager

Maximising your grant-making impact2015 Community Foundations Forum

We are a “philanthropic toothbrush” taking philanthropy to the hard to reach places. Established in 2000, distributed more than $60

millionMission: to champion the economic and social strength of Australia’s regional, rural & remote communities through partnerships with the private sector, philanthropy and government

• Only national Foundation dedicated to rural and regional Australia

Supports renewal of rural, regional and remote communities

Makes grants for charitable purposes2

Granting for impact is hard!

“Raising money is hard work, but giving it away wisely is even harder.” (Anon)

Your foundation’s strategy: role of grant-making?

What does impactful grant-making mean for your foundation?

How to maximise the impact of your grants programs

How and when do you know you are making a difference…or not?

3

Strategy and grant-making

Oxford Dictionary definition of Strategya plan of action designed to achieve a long-term or overall aim:e.g.: "time to develop a coherent economic strategy"

4

Grant-making as a tool for effecting change

Oxford Dictionary definition of Impact: have a strong effect on someone or something: affect; influence; have an effect on; make an impression on; hit, touch; change; alter; modify; transform; shape

What does impact mean for you as grant-makers?

5

Getting clear on our own impact aspirations

What are the needs and priorities in your community?

How big/complex is the need?

What role does your foundation want to play?

What level of financial capacity does your foundation have or seek to have?

What other players are in the space?

What kinds of responses are going to help achieve the change in the most impactful way for your community?

6

Getting clearer can initially feel a bit like this

7

8

But hopefully you end up more like this!

Thankyou R. E. Ross Trust!

Mission

Defined impact areas

Clarity on your approach

Clear guiding principles & purposes

Tips for developing a grant-making strategy…

Understand the landscape, context and the need Build partnerships, research, talk to the community

Recognise that problems are highly complex

Not likely to be solved by grant-making alone

Stick to your organisation strategy

Be confident of the change you seek to influence but remain flexible

Evaluate – using different approaches and methodologies – doesn’t always have to be scientific

9

Approaches for impact

10

Impact Focus Philanthropic approaches

Specific issue, need or population group

Targeted partnerships, support of initiatives aligned to target group or issue (e.g. collective impact)

Broad community development

General community benefit grants

Funding for projects

Capacity building Leveraging of funds

Advocacy and partnerships

Supporting organisations as well as projects

Your foundation might use multiple approaches, or just one…they are all relevant and impactful

High impact grants: does size matter?

Small grants? Large grants? Multi-year grants?

Often determined by your financial base

But also – critically – by your strategy

A small grant can be the starting point, the leverage, the finishing off, the building of a track record

A large grant can be a community-wide initiative or one that addresses a fundamental gap

11

High impact grants: due diligence

Partnerships and collaboration

Project place within the broader issue, problem, opportunity

Evidence base – community and stakeholder voice, data

Viability of the project, organisation, partnerships

Sustainability: will they be back year after year? – Can you support sustainability measures as part of the grant?

12

Are you achieving impact?

1. Evaluate your own performance as a foundation

a. Accessibilityb. Transparency of processc. Clarity of guidelines d. Clarity of grantee obligations and reporting requirementse. Having the right strategy in the first place

2. Support your grantees to evaluate their projects to generate useful outcomes data

a. Strong grant applications with clear and realistic outcomesb. Method and scope for evaluation: what will be useful for

the group, community and foundation? c. Fund evaluation if you can – not many groups have

capacity to evaluate

13

Evaluating your impact

It doesn’t have to be rocket science!

Group-based grantee reporting – Share lessons, challenges, achievements – facilitate

collaboration and networking

Visit projects, ask questions, talk to beneficiaries, take photos, video diaries

Grant acquittal reports usually tell only half the story

14

Helpful resources

Grantmakers for Effective Organisations: www.geofunders.orgSmarter Grant-making Playbook is a great resource!

TCC Group: strategies for achieving social impact:http://www.tccgrp.com/pdfs/per_brief_impact.pdf

AIGM grant-making toolkit: http://www.ourcommunity.com.au/files/toolkitflyer.pdf

15

Stay in touch with FRRR…

Foundation forRural & Regional RenewalPO Box 41, Bendigo66 Garsed Street, Bendigo

Freecall: 1800 170 020Website: www.frrr.org.auTwitter: @FRRR_OzFacebook: facebook.com/followFRRR

Subscribe to eNews – via the News page on our website

16