Like the nonprofits they support, funders want to know that their own activities are making a difference. While grantee performance remains a vital aspect of foundation effectiveness, there is growing recognition among foundations that they themselves play a significant role in the eventual success of their grantees.

Drawing on concepts from strategic planning, organizational development, and evaluation, Impact Strategies can lead the foundation through a series of focused discussions around four important questions:*

• What type of impact do we hope to achieve? 

• Is our strategy sound? 
   
• Is our strategy well-executed?
   
• Is our strategy actually producing the desired results?

The information needed to answer these question forms the basis of the evaluative framework for assessing overall foundation effectiveness.


*This approach is based on the concept of “mission effectiveness” as developed by Peter Frumkin.