Focus Area Overview

We support multiservice organizations with investments that add to their effectiveness and allow them to expand their reach or to innovate.

We believe investments that strengthen programming, external relations, human resources, information systems, financial management or performance assessments lead to higher-quality services for clients and can contribute to systems change. 

We look for opportunities to demonstrate that investments in organizational effectiveness yield meaningful improvement in quality of life and economic opportunity for low-income individuals and families. As with all of our human-services work, these investments are focused on organizations that help people move out of poverty.

We fund direct-service organizations because they provide critically needed assistance to individuals and families and anchor us in the reality, challenges and promising practices of day-to-day human-services work.

We invest in:

• Improving programs – For example, the design and implementation of tools that promote comprehensive service delivery or collective engagement in advocating policy reform.
• Enhancing infrastructure – Such as support for information technologies that improve access to knowledge and tools for effectiveness; performance assessment that facilitates learning, ongoing improvement and results; or added communications capacity to inform public attitudes and support.
• Bolstering people – Including the development of management and leadership skills that nurture and reward talent.

In addition, we invest in applied research projects that:

• Elevate the study of organizational effectiveness, resilience and sustainability for direct human-service organizations that serve low-income populations.
• Promote the study of strategic alliances on the resilience of direct human service organizations.
• Identify promising or best practices and models for co-located or integrated services.
• Explore broader systematic context, large-scale or public programming.
• Inform public policy or catalyze public dialogue. 

Funding Methods

We award grants and make program-related investments. Some grants are awarded for a single year, others are for multiple years. Taken together, our grantmaking and investing methods constitute our funding toolbox.

Our funding toolbox consists of:

• Operating support grants
• Project support grants
• Program-related investments

Our funding goal – through grants and investments – is to help organizations that are advancing our programmatic priorities fulfill their missions and become sustainable over time, often growing or developing in the process.

Eligibility

Who may apply?

• U.S. 501(c)(3) organizations with audited financial statements that are not classified as private foundations. Audits must be independently prepared following Generally Accepted Accounting Principles (GAAP) or Government Auditing Standards (GAS). Financial statements prepared on a cash, modified cash, compilation, or review basis do not qualify.
• Government entities.

Who will be competitive?

Direct-service organizations that:

• Employ an explicit multiservice, integrated approach to meet client needs and draw on promising practices known to help people move out of poverty.
• Have a record of working on systems and policy change and have documented program success in moving people out of poverty.
• Do work with the potential to inform national policy and/or practice.
• Are financially sound and have robust systems and controls for financial management in place.
• Have a formal, collaborative approach to working with other agencies.
• Are at a critical phase of growth (for example, annual budget of $1 million to $10 million).
• Can clearly articulate the rationale for their proposed interventions and outcomes their proposed activity would advance.
• Have leadership and personnel that are representative of the communities they serve.

 Applied research projects and activities that:

• Are supported by a network of researchers, nonprofit organizations and engaged community members.
• Engage in applied social science research, including social policy on poverty and the effectiveness of anti-poverty human services organizations and networks.
• Involve researchers and organizations with track records of translating research into promising practices, promoting policy solutions and developing technical assistance tools (such as publications, curricula, training).
• Pursue applied research that attends to the broad systematic context, shapes large-scale or public programming, informs public policy or stimulates public dialogue.

Who may not apply?

• Individuals.
• Organizations that discriminate on the basis of race, color, religion, gender, national origin, citizenship status, age, disability, sexual orientation or veteran status.
• Organizations that require membership in certain religions or advance a particular religious faith. (Faith-based organizations may be eligible if they welcome and serve all members of the community regardless of religious belief.)
• Programs operated to benefit for-profit organizations.

Application Process

An application has two parts:

1. Part 1, the preliminary application, contains a data-entry component and several attachments, including a narrative.
2. If a program staff member determines your request has potential for funding, he or she will ask you to provide additional information. This will constitute Part 2 of the application process.

We accept and review inquiries on an ongoing basis.