Far from Home, WA Charitable Dollars Pay Off

If every dollar you invested prompted a $114 return that would be a winner. A new study from the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP) says that's the payoff for communities when charitable foundations have made grants in four southern states.

The South has seen its share of tragedy in recent years, including last month's killer tornadoes. Its people may emerge stronger, however, in part because organizations such as Seattle's Marguerite Casey Foundation are helping behind the scenes.

Marcus Littles, senior partner at Frontline Solutions, is a co-author of the report.

"It's both wanting to highlight how innovative organizations and communities are, and resilient - at the same time, to see that it's in the context of often being forgotten, under-invested in, and underestimated."

The study looked at 20 nonprofit groups in the South in a five-year period. Between them, they've curbed predatory lending practices, improved public schools, changed prison sentencing policies and more, according to Lisa Ranghelli, director of NCRP's Grantmaking for Community Impact Project.

"Foundations increasingly are seeing that they can play a role in supporting that, by educating people about the policy process, providing resources for folks to get various kinds of leadership training and to come together, and to identify solutions to common problems."

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This article also appeared in the Lake Stevens Journal.