Philanthropy Central

It’s one thing for a foundation’s leaders to be able to say, “We fund programs that do great work.” It is a very different thing to be able to say, “Our money is having the impact that we want it to have.” How can a foundation better understand the true results of its grantmaking?

This was the question that the leaders of the Annie E. Casey Foundation (Casey) were asking themselves when, in 2000, they committed to measuring results across all of their grantmaking. Their progress towards this goal—and in particular, the efforts of Bruno V. Manno, senior associate of the Annie E. Casey Education Program—illustrates one organization’s efforts to become accountable for achieving the results to which it aspires.