Each foundation has a mission to accomplish. How will it assign its priorities and determine its program objectives and goals? What strategies and roles will it select for achieving its goals? To answer these questions, foundations often combine strategic planning and consultation with Board, staff, donors, potential grantees, and potential partners in the government and the business sectors. Out of this process emerges a set of programs, both grantmaking and operating, to implement the chosen strategies.
Foundations can take advantage of an array of opportunities to have an impact in their chosen fields. In comparison to many non-governmental organizations (NGOs), they are less constrained to provide specific services and can adopt creative and innovative strategies to achieve their goals and make a lasting difference in their own societies. Unlike Northern foundations that are more likely to use grantmaking as the principal strategy for carrying out their mission, foundations in Latin America, Africa and Asia often pursue a wider range of strategies of which grantmaking is but one. The strategies adopted by the foundations described in this chapter involve them in playing a multiplicity of roles including:
- Providing leadership in tackling issues that have been neglected by others because they are seen as carrying high risk or are considered "too big" to tackle
- Empowering civil society organizations and individuals normally excluded from decision-making through financial support, capacity building and promoting access to information
- Serving as Examples to other civil society organizations by incorporating principles (such as transparency, accountability and participation) in their programs
- Incorporating effective systems of monitoring and evaluation into their program management systems to ensure programs have the desired impact and are cost effective
- Introducing government agencies to new and innovative solutions to social and economic development challenges
- Building bridges between civil society organizations, as well as between civil society, government and business sectors, leading to new partnership approaches to problem solving.
This chapter draws on the experience of over a dozen foundations of varying ages and experiences to illustrate how they have taken advantage of their independent status and access to financial and human resources to build innovative and effective programs. The oldest foundation has more than thirty years of experience while the youngest foundations have less than five. They also vary greatly in size, available financial resources and impact. What they all have in common is the desire to make a measurable difference in their respective societies.
The first three sections address the selection of strategies and roles and the identification of clear program focus and program management framework. The following three sections look at how foundations manage the grantmaking process from the review of proposals and the selection of grantees (the term "partners" is increasingly used) to the administration of grants, including grant monitoring and evaluation. The final three sections focus on areas where foundations have been able to make a difference. These are in strengthening the capacity of partner organizations, in supporting innovative income generation programs and in building bridges between civil society, government and the corporate sector.