Transforming Philanthropic Transactions

Evaluates the approach and effectiveness of SVP's first five years working to inspire philanthropy and volunteerism and build organizational capacity among nonprofits. Describes SVP's model that fuses donor education and capacity building activities

Trusting in Change

Describes the background to a series of changes that led the foundation, beginning in 2000, to implement a new grantmaking approach

Evaluation of the Community Leadership Project 2.0

Social Policy Research Associates (SPR), the contracted evaluator for CLP, began work partway through the first phase of CLP and has continued its role for CLP 2.0. SPR's overall goals for the evaluation are to: (1) inform improvements in CLP 2.0 implementation; (2) share lessons with the philanthropic field on effective capacity-building strategies for small organizations working in low-income communities and communities of color; and (3) assess the impact of CLP 2.0 on community grantees. This report focuses specifically on the launching of CLP 2.0 and on community grantees' characteristics and capacity levels at baseline

Making Evaluation Work

Outlines how evaluation has been integrated into grantmaking practices, since the foundation embarked upon a new approach to the field of youth development in 2000

Organizations Focused On Immigrant Civic Participation Encourage Immigrants To Be Part of the Broader Community

The first year evaluation report on the Immigrant Participation & Immigration Reform (IPIR) initiative tells a story of human and social development -- newcomers joining and strengthening the democracy-among immigrants whose institutions engage them in organizational self-governance, leadership opportunities, and democratic civic activity. Indeed, evidence suggests that it is the quality of these organizations that draws immigrants into participation: Sixty-three percent of respondents said that one of their major motivations to be active in the community was that "I like being a part of an organization that does good work.

Edna McConnell Clark Foundation - 2006 Annual Report

Contains president's message, fund and program information, grants list, grantee information, financial statements, grant guidelines, and lists of board members and staff

Evolution of a Mission-Driven Youth Development Agency: Making a Difference

This report describes the evolution of a mission-driven youth development agency, Good Shepherd Services of New York City. In the more than six decades that good Shepherd Services (GSS) has served New York's neediest children and youth, it has evolved from a small provider of residential care for adolescent girls to a large, comprehensive, multi-faceted youth development, education, and family services agency. Incorporated in 1947, GSS's work on behalf of New York's most vulnerable is underscored by its original mission and core values, which are driven by the belief that despite the challenges people face, if gevn the right set of supports and opportunities, they have the ability to change and grow over time. This unique strategy and commitment to building on people's strengths rather than focusing on their deficits has shaped GSS' growth and service model of strength-based youth development

Building a Stronger Regional Safety Net: Philanthropy's Role

Examines nonprofit organizations' capacity to serve the fast-growing low-income suburban populations in the Atlanta, Chicago, Denver, and Detroit areas and local philanthropic communities' strategies for boosting regional service capacity

Independent Evaluation of the Jim Joseph Foundation's Education Initiative Year 4 Report

Research indicates that well-prepared educators help produce strong learning outcomes for students. For the continued health of Jewish education, higher education institutions should have the capacity to prepare sufficient numbers of highly qualified educators and education leaders for careers in Jewish education. Teachers, division heads, and school heads represent a substantial segment of the educator population in Jewish day schools. More than 5,000 educators enter new positions in Jewish day schools every year and are in need of adequate preparation. The most frequent obstacle to instructional quality in Jewish day schools is the difficulty in recruiting qualified teachers (Ben-Avie & Kress, 2006; Jewish Education Service of North America, 2008; Kidron et al., in press; Krakowski, 2011; Sales, 2007).A similar problem has been observed in supplementary schools in congregational or communal settings. These schools enroll the majority of Jewish children and adolescents receiving a Jewish education in the United States (Wertheimer, 2008). In recent years, congregations have begun to replace traditional educational programs with new approaches that aim to raise the quality of instruction and the level of parent and student satisfaction relative to their programs. These new approaches may include greater integration of experiential Jewish education and community service, family learning, and the integration of all aspects of congregational learning under the leadership of one director (Rechtschaffen, 2011; Sales, Samuel, Koren, & Shain, 2010). High-quality programs that are updated or reconstructed across time to meet the needs of the Jewish community require well-prepared directors and educators. However, many directors and educators in congregational schools have not participated in teacher preparation programs, and the depth of Jewish content knowledge among these teachers is highly variable (Stodolsky, Dorph, & Rosov, 2008)

Edna McConnell Clark Foundation - 2003 Annual Report

Contains president's message, fund and program information, grants list, financial statements, grant guidelines, publications list, and lists of board members and staff