The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation

A foundation can gauge and improve its impact through an operational and financial commitment to evaluation, investment in building staff capacity, and a willingness to ask hard questions and change course based on the answers. In this article, we describe the concept and practice of strategic philanthropy, lay out the essential role that evaluation and impact measurement play in that approach, and share the framework and process that we have developed for measuring results at the Walton Family Foundation.

Multi-year funding dipped and general operating support for nonprofits remained stagnant during the past several years. These are the findings of two new studies released today by the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP), the country’s independent watchdog of philanthropy. According to the The Philanthropic Landscape: The State of Multi-Year Funding, reported multi-year grantmaking in 2009 fell 21 percent to $5.5 billion during a time when total grantmaking declined only by 13 percent. General operating support (or core support) from 2008 to 2010 fared slightly better, according to The State of General Operating Support.

A group of the largest U.S. foundations have formally committed to release their grant information in a consistent, open and frequent manner, in an effort to more effectively address the issues facing our communities and our world. To date, 15 foundations have partnered with the Foundation Center and agreed to open up their grantmaking data in this initiative known as the "Reporting Commitment."

The Partnership for 21st Century Skills (P21), the national organization advocating for 21st century readiness for every student, is embarking on a two-year initiative to highlight the importance of civic engagement for students thanks to a $200,000 grant from The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation. The grant will provide two-year support of P21’s newest initiative on 21st century citizenship.

Rockefeller Philanthropy Advisors announced grants from the California Education Policy Fund to advance education reform efforts that can boost student achievement and college and career success in California, especially among disadvantaged students. Totaling $3.1 million, the grants will provide general operating support to eight well-established and newer organizations positioned to affect positive change in California’s education policies.

GuideStar, a source of nonprofit information, announced that Jacob Harold has been selected as its new president and CEO. Harold, a widely respected grantmaker, social change strategist and author, has led grantmaking for the William and Flora Hewlett Foundation's Philanthropy Program since 2006. He has served on the board of GuideStar since January 2010 and will continue as a board member in his new position.

More and more foundations are paying increasing attention to the role of communications in furthering their public-policy work "in ways that go far beyond the annual reports, press releases, and grant lists of yesteryear," according to a new study of 18 foundations published by the Center on Philanthropy & Public Policy at the University of Southern California.

Nineteen institutions in five states will participate in the first phase focusing on mathematics and college readiness.

Carnegie Corporation of New York, The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation and Lumina Foundation are joining in partnership with The Carnegie Foundation for the Advancement of Teaching to invest in improving student success in community colleges. All five foundations share a commitment to expanding college readiness and furthering student retention and graduation rates.

MENLO PARK, Calif. – From increasing childhood literacy in India to helping improve the air quality in California's Central Valley, The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation has announced over $84 million in new grants to 199 organizations.

Organizations receiving grants ranged across the San Francisco Bay Area and throughout the world in the Foundation's six primary areas of grantmaking: global development, education, performing arts, philanthropy, the environment, and population. The Foundation also made select grants for special projects. Among the highlights of the grants awarded this spring are:

MENLO PARK, Calif., November 18, 2009 — Nonprofit organizations need flexible funding to thrive, but whether a funder provides general support or underwrites a specific project depends on the compatibility of their interests, writes Paul Brest, president of The William and Flora Hewlett Foundation, in an essay accompanying the Foundation's recently released 2008 Annual Report.