2010 Grantee Perception Report - The John R. Oishei Foundation

Oishei Foundation Rates Highly Against National Peers in Recent Evaluation

In a recently completed Grantee Perception Report (GPR) conducted by the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP), an independent watchdog group, The John R. Oishei Foundation performed exceedingly well in several measures of effectiveness. Oishei was compared against CEP’s total database comprising 251 funders nationally, as well as a special set of ‘cohort’ funders comprising 18 funders from around the country.

The report is based on a survey of 135 Oishei grantees done in February and March of 2010 with 97 respondents. It is the second grantee survey commissioned by Oishei, the first being completed in 2005. The report provides comparative, candid feedback to funders based on grantee perceptions gathered anonymously. Questions were asked about various components of the Foundation’s work including the grant making process, communications and impact. Current responses were compared with the 2005 report.

The Oishei Foundation scored higher than 90% of other funders on:

• Understanding of Grantees’ Goals and Strategy
• Impact on Sustainability of Funded Work
• Helpfulness of Selection Process
• Impact of Assistance Securing Funding from other Sources

In addition, Oishei scored well above other funders in the following areas:

• Overall Satisfaction
• Staff Responsiveness
• Impact on Grantees’ Fields
• Impact on Grantees’ Local Communities
• Understanding of Grantees’ Local Communities
• Grantee Comfort with Approaching the funder if a problem arises
• Consistency of Communications

Other key highlights from the study include:

• The Foundation has improved significantly since the 2005 survey on several measures including impact on and understanding of grantees’ fields; understanding of grantees’ organizations; and helpfulness in the selection process.

• Grantees commented that the Foundation “operates with the highest integrity and commitment of purpose,” but indicated some areas for potential improvement, especially on issues of level of interaction.

• Although grantees provide higher ratings than typical regarding the quality of their interactions with the Foundation, grantees report less frequent interactions than in 2005.

• Grantees viewed the Foundation as more responsive, fair, and approachable than typical.

• Several grantees specifically mention site visits as an opportunity for the Foundation in order to “learn about the organization and the community.” Grantees that received site visits rate the Foundation higher on many key measures including impact on grantees’ organizations and consistency of the Foundation’s communications resources.

• Oishei grantees rate the Foundation higher than typical with regard to the consistency of its communications resources. Despite these high ratings, grantees find that the Foundation is less clear than typical in communicating its goals and strategies, and report occasional “dark periods” and “general miscommunication[s]”. When asked about the Foundation’s response to the current economic climate, however, grantees indicate that these communications were more clear than typical and that the Foundation’s response was more helpful to them than typical.

• Oishei grantees report participating in a highly-involved selection process that is very helpful in strengthening their projects and organizations. The Foundation is more involved than approximately 75 percent of funders in the development of grantees’ proposals. However, grantees report a lower level of Foundation involvement during the reporting/evaluation process.

“The Oishei Foundation is continually looking for ways to build and improve upon partnerships with members of the local nonprofit community. We are very pleased to have earned such high marks from the grantees. We are particularly happy with our improvement since 2005 and plan to continue that trend. We appreciate the time and honest feedback provided by the grantees and will work to address any concerns noted in the survey. We will continue to reflect upon our work and identify effective strategies for grant making, communicating, and collaborating with grantees,” stated Oishei’s Board Chair James Wadsworth.

"We are delighted that The John R. Oishei Foundation is committed not only to seeking and using feedback from the grantees with whom they work, but also that they are proving to be a model of transparency by making the major themes from their report public," noted Travis Manzione Director of Assessment Tools at the CEP.

The Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) is a nonprofit organization with a mission to provide data and create insight so philanthropic funders can better define, assess, and improve their effectiveness and impact. For more information on CEP's work, including its research, publications, and assessment tools, see www.effectivephilanthropy.org.