The North Penn Community Health Foundation seeks to be a catalyst for change. Its support of organizations receiving grants is designed to facilitate positive changes in the community as well as provide a vehicle for learning. The foundation’s board has selected three strategic areas of funding to focus its efforts and improve the quality of life in the North Penn community. The board provides grants to organizations seeking to address one or more of the foundation’s goals. Ideally, the collective work of grantee organizations will make a significant contribution to the health and well-being of community residents.
The foundation has developed an integrated application and grant reporting system to promote community and foundation learning.
The foundation requires applicants, in their request for grant support, to define the accomplishments (outputs) they hope to achieve and the intended results (outcomes) of these in the community. If funded, the foundation requires grantees to report on their progress towards achieving these expected accomplishments and results and to share lessons learned.
Understanding Accomplishments and Results
- Accomplishments are the direct output or product of the grant support.
- Results are the effects of the accomplishments on target populations or audiences.
The accomplishments described in the grant application and later reported on should lead to certain expected results during the grant period and beyond. The foundation recognizes that only short-term results are usually possible during the course of most grants. Yet it wants to understand what longer-term results are expected whenever possible. Results are often intended, but sometimes unintended results also occur – both desirable and undesirable. Learning about what results occur through planned activities can help inform the foundation and others about the replication of strategies that are effective as well as those that may foster unintended results.
Examples
DEVELOPMENT OF A STRATEGIC AND BUSINESS PLAN FOR NEW SERVICES:
Accomplishment: The completed strategic and business plan
Grant-period results:
- Secured financing for new services;
- Attracted new service partners;
- Reduced operating costs;
- Delivered services to a new target population of consumers not previously served.
SERVICE DELIVERY EXPANSION
Accomplishment: Increased recruitment of patients or expanded hours of service
Grant-period results:
- More services delivered to a specific and targeted population;
- An assessment of the result of the service in terms of outcomes to clients (e.g. client’s health status improved; clients’ access to health education improved, reduced number of adverse client incidents such as falls, assaults, etc.).
NEEDS ASSESSMENT
Accomplishment: Study completed and distributed.
Grant-period results:
- Findings of study used by board members, stakeholders and policymakers to inform decision making;
- Developed new program/service to address unmet needs.
CAPACITY BUILDING PROPOSAL (Note: time periods incorporated into results)
Accomplishment:
- Staff trained;
- Efficiency protocols implemented;
- New staff salaries institutionalized and incorporated into the operating budget;
- Intervention or performance management tool incorporated into management protocols.
Grant-period results:
- Improved service;
- Improved fiscal sustainability;
- Leveraged core competency to complete merger.
FEASIBILITY STUDY
Accomplishment:
- Feasibility determined and viable financial model developed;
- Organizational core competencies assessed.
Grant period results:
- Results of financial model shared and successful in attracting partners for project;
- Replication of model viable (programmatically, financially) in organization and community;
- Program modifications appealing to clients.
Process and Format
The foundation invites a discussion with its staff to define expectations around accomplishments and results articulated in the application and subsequent reporting. These discussions typically take place when the staff is preparing a request for grant support for board review or when the foundation is preparing the grant agreement.
The foundation does not prescribe the format for detailing accomplishments and results but encourages applicants to present proposals in a format that is comfortable to them. You may use the foundation’s template format, which can be found on the forms section of the website , or submit your own work plan.
Reporting to the Foundation
The foundation expects grantees to report on the status of their proposed accomplishments at agreed upon time intervals defined in its grant agreement. Since the nature of grant-supported work will differ, the foundation uses the grant agreement to confirm its understanding of the proposed accomplishments and anticipated results and the timeframes for reporting this information.
When interim progress reports are required, grantees are asked to describe the status of the results achieved. Grantees should answer the question, “Did the intended results occur and to what extent?” Grantees are encouraged to avoid description of process and activities when submitting interim or final reports to the foundation unless these are integral to the nature of the grant-supported work. The real goal in reporting is to help both the grantee and the foundation understand the accomplishments of the grantee and the results of these accomplishments on specific community populations or the grantee’s organization.
