Philanthropy Central

In 1987 former Robert Wood Johnson Foundation staff member and trailblazer Terry Keenan recognized the need for a model of grantmaking that originated with local funders invested in their own communities. His field experience helped shape a responsive program built on the understanding that change to improve health at the local level must be led by funders and organizations within the community for it to be both pertinent and lasting. He developed Local Funding Partnerships (LFP) as a way to identify innovative local programs and provide technical guidance, training, and metrics to root these programs in their communities with the goal of developing sustainable projects. Keenan’s model was built on the importance of partnerships, learning, and continuous feedback from the communities in which the program worked.