1. Natalie Egleton Program Manager Maximising your grant-making impact 2015 Community Foundations Forum

2. We are a “philanthropic toothbrush” taking philanthropy to the hard to reach places.  Established in 2000, distributed more than $60 million Mission: to champion the economic and social strength of Australia’s regional, rural & remote communities through partnerships with the private sector, philanthropy and government Only national Foundation dedicated to rural and regional Australia  Supports renewal of rural, regional and remote communities  Makes grants for charitable purposes 2

3. Granting for impact is hard! “Raising money is hard work, but giving it away wisely is even harder.” (Anon)  Your foundation’s strategy: role of grant-making?  What does impactful grant-making mean for your foundation?  How to maximise the impact of your grants programs  How and when do you know you are making a difference…or not? 3

4. Strategy and grant-making Oxford Dictionary definition of Strategy a plan of action designed to achieve a long-term or overall aim: e.g.: "time to develop a coherent economic strategy" 4 Outcomes & Impact Adjunct strategies Grant- making Strategy Organisation Strategy

5. Grant-making as a tool for effecting change Oxford Dictionary definition of Impact: have a strong effect on someone or something: affect; influence; have an effect on; make an impression on; hit, touch; change; alter; modify; transform; shape What does impact mean for you as grant-makers? 5

6. Getting clear on our own impact aspirations  What are the needs and priorities in your community?  How big/complex is the need?  What role does your foundation want to play?  What level of financial capacity does your foundation have or seek to have?  What other players are in the space?  What kinds of responses are going to help achieve the change in the most impactful way for your community? 6

7. Getting clearer can initially feel a bit like this 7

8. 8 But hopefully you end up more like this! Thankyou R. E. Ross Trust! Mission Defined impact areas Clarity on your approach Clear guiding principles & purposes

9. Tips for developing a grant-making strategy…  Understand the landscape, context and the need  Build partnerships, research, talk to the community  Recognise that problems are highly complex  Not likely to be solved by grant-making alone  Stick to your organisation strategy  Be confident of the change you seek to influence but remain flexible  Evaluate – using different approaches and methodologies – doesn’t always have to be scientific 9

10. Approaches for impact 10 Impact FocusPhilanthropic approaches Specific issue, need or population group Targeted partnerships, support of initiatives aligned to target group or issue (e.g. collective impact) Broad community development General community benefit grants Funding for projects Capacity buildingLeveraging of funds Advocacy and partnerships Supporting organisations as well as projects Your foundation might use multiple approaches, or just one…they are all relevant and impactful

11. High impact grants: does size matter?  Small grants? Large grants? Multi-year grants?  Often determined by your financial base  But also – critically – by your strategy  A small grant can be the starting point, the leverage, the finishing off, the building of a track record  A large grant can be a community-wide initiative or one that addresses a fundamental gap 11

12. High impact grants: due diligence  Partnerships and collaboration  Project place within the broader issue, problem, opportunity  Evidence base – community and stakeholder voice, data  Viability of the project, organisation, partnerships  Sustainability: will they be back year after year? – Can you support sustainability measures as part of the grant? 12

13. Are you achieving impact? 1.Evaluate your own performance as a foundation a. Accessibility b. Transparency of process c. Clarity of guidelines d. Clarity of grantee obligations and reporting requirements e. Having the right strategy in the first place 2.Support your grantees to evaluate their projects to generate useful outcomes data a. Strong grant applications with clear and realistic outcomes b. Method and scope for evaluation: what will be useful for the group, community and foundation? c. Fund evaluation if you can – not many groups have capacity to evaluate 13

14. Evaluating your impact It doesn’t have to be rocket science!  Group-based grantee reporting – Share lessons, challenges, achievements – facilitate collaboration and networking  Visit projects, ask questions, talk to beneficiaries, take photos, video diaries  Grant acquittal reports usually tell only half the story 14

15. Helpful resources Grantmakers for Effective Organisations: www.geofunders.orgwww.geofunders.org Smarter Grant-making Playbook is a great resource! TCC Group: strategies for achieving social impact: http://www.tccgrp.com/pdfs/per_brief_impact.pdf AIGM grant-making toolkit: http://www.ourcommunity.com.au/files/toolkitflyer.pdf http://www.ourcommunity.com.au/files/toolkitflyer.pdf 15

16. Stay in touch with FRRR… Foundation for Rural & Regional Renewal PO Box 41, Bendigo 66 Garsed Street, Bendigo Freecall: 1800 170 020 Website: www.frrr.org.auwww.frrr.org.au Twitter: @FRRR_Oz Facebook: facebook.com/followFRRRfacebook.com/followFRRR Subscribe to eNews – via the News page on our website 16