As the COVID-19 pandemic has dramatically underscored, the mission of Archstone Foundation—“to contribute towards the preparation of society in meeting the needs of an aging population”—is critically important. People over age 65 make up the largest percentages by far for hospitalizations, intensive care unit admissions, and deaths resulting from the novel coronavirus.
The current pandemic has brought into stark relief just how unprepared society remains in meeting the needs of older adults, especially those who are most frail and vulnerable. Since the Foundation’s work is so crucial, we are constantly seeking ways to ensure that it is carried out effectively and strategically—delivering maximum impact for investments made.
In May 2019, Archstone Foundation fielded a confidential survey conducted by the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP), an independent non-profit organization. The purpose of the survey was to measure the effectiveness of the Foundation’s work and to learn from our grantees and applicants how we can improve to help inform our strategic planning process.
Two different surveys were sent, one to our current grantees and the other to applicants who had been declined in the past year. CEP has conducted similar surveys with more than 300 foundations, and feedback on Archstone Foundation’s results were benchmarked against the other foundations that have participated in surveys.
Read the summary of the results.
Key Takeaways
There were several takeaways from the surveys. The response rates from grantees and applicants were high compared to the typical foundation. And there were several areas where the Foundation performed much better than our peers, including:
- Understanding of and impact on the grantees’ field.
- Advancement of knowledge in the grantees’ field.
- The extent to which the Foundation has affected public policy in their fields.
The Foundation was also rated quite high in the measures of grantee relationships. Jasmine Lacsamana, our Program Associate, was recognized by CEP for being in the highest tier for program officers in grantee relationships. However, the Foundation rated below its peers in its communications with applicants who were declined.
One of the recommendations from our grantees is that we streamline our reporting process. In a change made after the survey had been conducted, we have already streamlined the reporting process by going from five reports—quarterly and a final—to twice a year. The Foundation also converted to an online grants management system after the survey was conducted, so results do not reflect the changes in the grantee experience with submitting applications and reports.
We are grateful for each of the grantees and applicants who took the time to respond to the survey. Rest assured that your feedback will help the Foundation improve its grantmaking.
Moving forward, we will solicit feedback from grantees on the new reporting process to ascertain whether their concerns have been addressed. Staff is also considering different ways to communicate with declined applicants. And we plan to repeat the survey every two years to track our progress over time.
Archstone Foundation is firmly committed to continuing to improve our effectiveness and our relationship with grantees and applicants. The work we all do, together, is far too important to settle for anything less.
