Philanthropy has no absolute measure for success. We believe that evaluation is as important in grantmaking as it is in business or government.
Our evaluation approach is guided by three main principles:
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Success depends on a willingness to solicit feedback and take corrective action when necessary.
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Improvement should be continuous, and we should learn from our mistakes.
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Evaluation should be conducted in partnership with those who are doing the work in order to maximize learning and minimize the burden on the grantee.
Evaluation alone should not dictate funding decisions. However, we believe there are certain types of grants that should always be carefully assessed. These include grants of high cost or a high degree of risk, models that could be replicated for greater impact, and work with high potential of learning for the field.
Our approach for evaluating a specific grant or initiative is determined by the needs of priority audiences and the objectives of the program itself. We have no single system of evaluation.
In addition to evaluating specific grants, we also believe each of the Foundation's major subprograms should develop a logic model, or methodology, for identifying desired outcomes, and that the efficacy of each subprogram should be regularly reviewed.
