Foundation Giving Strategies Helen Mattheis The Greater Cincinnati Foundation December 13, 2011

The Greater Cincinnati Foundation Overview Community foundation serving Greater Cincinnati/NKY region Purpose: We help donors make the most of their giving to build a better community Current assets approximately $460 million  Total Grants Approved $70 million  Total Unrestricted Grants Approved $5.1 million Historically awarded grants across six priority areas: arts and culture, community and economic development, education, environment, health, and human services New Strategic Grantmaking Framework with two goals: 1) Thriving People and 2) Vibrant Places

GCF’s New Framework Goals 1.Focusing resources: Define our purpose in a way that is focused, measurable, and achievable. 2.Telling our story: More clearly capture and demonstrate our results. 3.Alignment: Further align grantmaking with community-wide initiatives to maximize funding. 4.Maximizing our talent: Focus more staff and volunteer time on grantmaking strategy and results, and less on grant transactions.

Connecting People and Places

Educational Success Improve outcomes for Greater Cincinnati residents across the educational continuum by: Strategy I: Provide quality early learning opportunities to ensure a strong foundation for success in school and life Strategy II: Ensure children are supported to succeed in school and out of school Strategy III: Help individuals prepare for and complete post-high school education and training to secure gainful employment

The Strive Partnership The Goals: Working together along the educational continuum to drive better results in education so that every child is Prepared for school, Supported inside and outside of school, Succeeds in school, Enrolls in some form of postsecondary education and Graduates and enters a career.

The Strive Partnership’s Eight Priority Outcomes Coordinating Action to Support Student Achievement Kindergarten Readiness 4 th Grade Reading 8 th Grade Math High School Graduation College Preparedness (ACT Scores) Postsecondary Enrollment Postsecondary Retention Postsecondary Completion

Current Partnership Example College Readiness Fund  Developing a College-Going Culture  Funded through Lumina Foundation for Education  Approach on two levels  Systemic Level  Individual School Level

Cincinnati College Access Alliance Common Goal: “To increase the number of students who enroll and are prepared for post-secondary education  Collaborative of 25 members who meet monthly  Representation from school district, college access partners, funders, etc.  Action plan developed annually with common goals, outcomes and measures identified  Student-level data collected and analyzed using CPS Student Data Measurement System  Practicing continuous quality improvement in development of annual planning process

Pilot Sites Develop college-going culture in 6 high schools  Jointly funded projects with School Principal and College Access provider  Developing collective vision for school  Services aligned and integrated to needs of student and school

Advice on Approaching Foundations All foundations are different; conduct necessary research to know how to approach Build relationship with foundation staff prior to submitting a request Review foundation’s funding history and grant amounts Know your organization’s data and community’s data Be knowledgeable of the larger community context along education continuum