The New Criteria for Philanthropy at Its Best – Let Us Know What You Think!
posted on: Monday, March 09, 2009
NCRP’s new Criteria for Philanthropy at Its Best has sparked lively (and sometimes heated) discussions in philanthropic circles since we released it last week.
Criteria is a set of guidelines for grantmakers so they can operate more ethically and increase their impact on the world today.
According to Criteria, a foundation serves the public good by …
Criterion 1: Values
… contributing to a strong, participatory democracy that engages all communities.
a. Provides at least 50 percent of its grant dollars to benefit lower-income communities, communities of color and other marginalized groups
b. Provides at least 25 percent of its grant dollars to advocacy, organizing and civic engagement to promote equity, opportunity and justice in our society
Criterion 2: Effectiveness
… investing in the health, growth and effectiveness of its nonprofits.
a. Provides at least 50 percent of its grant dollars for general operating support
b. Provides at least 50 percent of its grant dollars as multi-year grants
c. Ensures that the time to apply for and report on the grant is commensurate with grant size
Criterion 3: Ethics
… demonstrating accountability and transparency to the public, its grantees and constituents.
a. Maintains an engaged board of at least five people who include among them a diversity of perspectives—including the communities it serves—and who serves without compensation
b. Maintains policies and practices that support ethical behavior
c. Discloses information freely
Criterion 4: Commitment
… engaging a substantial portion of its financial assets in support of its mission.
a. Pays out at last 6 percent of its assets annually in all grants
b. Invests at least 25 percent of its assets in ways that support its mission
You can view the full report, individual chapters, and executive summary for free at http://www.ncrp.org/paib.
Join the conversation—we’d love to hear from you! Tell us what you think about Criteria.
Labels: accountability, core operating support, Foundations supporting advocacy and organizing, Mission-related investing, Philanthropy at Its Best, Philanthropy's role in society, transparency
Criteria is a set of guidelines for grantmakers so they can operate more ethically and increase their impact on the world today.
According to Criteria, a foundation serves the public good by …
Criterion 1: Values
… contributing to a strong, participatory democracy that engages all communities.
a. Provides at least 50 percent of its grant dollars to benefit lower-income communities, communities of color and other marginalized groups
b. Provides at least 25 percent of its grant dollars to advocacy, organizing and civic engagement to promote equity, opportunity and justice in our society
Criterion 2: Effectiveness
… investing in the health, growth and effectiveness of its nonprofits.
a. Provides at least 50 percent of its grant dollars for general operating support
b. Provides at least 50 percent of its grant dollars as multi-year grants
c. Ensures that the time to apply for and report on the grant is commensurate with grant size
Criterion 3: Ethics
… demonstrating accountability and transparency to the public, its grantees and constituents.
a. Maintains an engaged board of at least five people who include among them a diversity of perspectives—including the communities it serves—and who serves without compensation
b. Maintains policies and practices that support ethical behavior
c. Discloses information freely
Criterion 4: Commitment
… engaging a substantial portion of its financial assets in support of its mission.
a. Pays out at last 6 percent of its assets annually in all grants
b. Invests at least 25 percent of its assets in ways that support its mission
Join the conversation—we’d love to hear from you! Tell us what you think about Criteria.
Labels: accountability, core operating support, Foundations supporting advocacy and organizing, Mission-related investing, Philanthropy at Its Best, Philanthropy's role in society, transparency
posted by NCRP at
4:22 PM
7 Comments:
Sirs:
David Jones's letter to the Wall street Journal today is the height of folly. If a donor knows that future generations may revise his wishes at their whim he/she is likely to give much less. If your organization succeeds in pressing legislative mandates so that politics trumps donor intent, private giving will shrivel much further.
Keep up the good work.
John Vineyard
Ithaca, NY
By
Anonymous, at 10:13 AM
These are the scariest ideas I've heard of in a long time. Individuals who make donations should have the assurance that their funds are being used as they intended. There should not be any third party directing the use of donated funds. You can believe I'm going to write my elected officials about this idea!! And also encourage all of my friends to write!!! This concept needs to be stopped in its tracks!!!
By
Marna Hart, at 10:20 PM
Dear Ms. Hart,
Thank you for your comments!
It seems you’ve misunderstood the intended audience of our work; NCRP’s Criteria does not apply to individual donations; they are recommendations we propose for institutional grantmakers to consider when making decisions about their foundations’ or other institute’s charitable giving priorities and practices. NCRP can’t and isn’t "directing" any individual about how to donate their money, nor is Criteria about ‘directing’ philanthropy.
We hope you continue being engaged in the discussions.
Niki Jagpal,
Research Director
By
NCRP, at 9:54 PM
Dear Ms. Jagpal,
"NCRP can’t and isn’t "directing" any individual about how to donate their money, nor is Criteria about ‘directing’ philanthropy." Instead you are directing foundations on how to grant dollars given to them by individuals.
By
Anonymous, at 3:43 PM
I had intended to glean and glance at the new publication from the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy. Instead, I ended up reading the whole thing, clipping half of it, and sending it on to several friends. Why? Because they state the obvious, that grantmakers need to be more generous and more focused in these difficult times. Because operating monies over a period of time will make great things happen, even during this recesion. Because they are in the business of doing good, better, of doing a lot with a little, in bigger ways. This document confronts all these patterns and paradoxes with wisdom and aplomb. I recommend it highly.
Reverend Donna Schaper, Senior Minister, Judson Memorial Church
By
Donna Schaper, at 10:54 AM
I read your publication and the first thing that comes to mind when I think of Philanthropy at its Best is delivering sustainable, desirable outcomes, replicatable outcomes. Using methods for measuring an organizations (non-profits) effectiveness in delivering the outcome. Holding the non-profit accountable for how funds are spent, keeping overhead in check and delivering services effectively and efficiently. We as a philanthropic community have been literally throwing our money away on organizations that enable behavior contrary to becomming a responsible, productive member of society and organizations that are overhead intensive and employ staff not sufficiently trained or motivated to deliver results. The problem has not been not enough money thrown at societies ills, it is that there has been little to no accountability for results. Continous funding of an organization for a period of years does not necessarily make that organization more effective. Funding needs to be strictly based on results achieved. Frankly I do not think any of your criteria will improve the ability of Philanthropy to make a difference in the communities they serve. The focus for too long has been on increasing giving and unfortunately not on attaining the desired results.
By
Michaelon Wright, at 1:52 PM
Michaelon,
Thank you for your comments on Criteria; I appreciate you taking the time to read through it and for sharing your feedback with us. Different perspectives and opinions that lead to constructive and informed debates are an important way for us to find common ground and work together to strengthen our sector as a whole. It’s exactly this kind of discussion we all need at this critical time. My response is a bit lengthy, so I’m posting it as a new blog entry, which you can view here.
By
Niki Jagpal, at 3:18 PM
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