How We Work
 

How We Work

We aim to be nimble in our funding approach, directing our resources to organizations that center BIPOC, immigrants, women, and people living in poverty.

We identify grantees through a number of ways:

We proactively scan the landscape to identify organizations aligned with our current priorities and look to relevant research to inform our approach. We also reach out to field leaders and other funders to learn about needs, trends in the field, and nonprofits.

How We Fund

We are committed to giving a minimum of 5% yearly across our philanthropic entities, including our donor advised funds. We strive to apply best practices in philanthropy to our grantmaking. To that end we work toward the following:

Mission Alignment
We consider funding organizations based on their mission, geographic reach, communities served, and alignment with our overall strategy and priorities.
Equity
We partner with organizations that are committed to centering racial, gender and economic justice.
Flexible Funding
We provide flexible funding, typically in the form of general support. We may also offer short-term funding for targeted opportunities.
Longer-Term Funding
We offer multi-year support for most of our Core Partners, acknowledging the benefits of securing stable, long-term funding.
Minimal Requirements
We are mindful of the time and effort we request from grantees throughout the funding process and attempt to minimize procedure and reporting requirements.
Grant Size
We strive for balance across the entire portfolio and determine our grant sizes based on an organization’s alignment with our strategy and priorities, budget, capacity, and other factors.

Grant Process and Timeline

Our team meets multiple times a year to make grant decisions, with key docket dates in February and October. For most organizations under consideration for funding, our team conducts all research and pre-award due diligence internally with no involvement from the organization. Occasionally, when we do reach out to an organization for information, the typical process is as follows:

  1. A program officer reaches out for an introductory conversation
  1. The program officer extends a request for additional information or shares the decision not to proceed at this time
  1. The program officer and grants team perform due diligence, summarize information, and recommend a grant amount, term, and support type
  1. The staff and board meet to review grant recommendations and hear updates from current partners
  1. Shortly after the grants meeting, the program officer notifies partners of the decision for the grant recommendation
  1. Within one month of the grants meeting, partners receive formal notification in the form of an award letter and grant funds

After a Grant Is Made

We try to be as unobtrusive as possible so our grantees can do their best work. We do not require any special reporting, presentations, site visits, or donor cultivation. Given the number of grantees that we have, their varied areas of work, and their locations, we conduct check-in calls only as needed to learn more about the field and issues at large. We do not attend fundraisers, galas, or other events.