President’s Report – Spring 2019

Welcome to the sixth edition of the President’s Report. In this edition I will highlight some of our recent accomplishments and aspirations. To learn more about the Beveridge Family Foundation, please visit  www.beveridge.org. Descendants of Frank Stanley Beveridge should be sure to read the “Bev Bucks“ section near the end of this report.

Recent Grants

At the April 2019 Board meeting, we authorized $584,494 in grants to a variety of organizations in Western Mass.  Following is a list of the recent grantees with links to their websites so you can learn more about our wide variety of interests and the outstanding work done by these dedicated organizations.

Alternative Funding Initiative

We have written about are alternative funding strategies for nonprofits in the last few editions of the President’s Report.  You can read more about the beginnings of this initiative in our Alternative Funding Survey results and our Summer 2018 President’s Report as well as progress from the Fall 2018 Report.

Last year we hosted three workshops for Endowed Projects with Chuck Gordon, enhanced cost savings with Alyssa Wright , and volunteer engagement with VQ Strategies. 

Sign-ups for the workshops were managed by the Human Service Forum. The workshops were well attended and developed a great deal of follow up and learning. Lessons learned included the need for immediate registrations for the cohorts which were designed to further the learning experience for workshop attendees.

We are also pleased to continue to support Paul Silva of Angel Catalyst who has been conducting cohort training on for-profit activities for nonprofits.

Impact Investing

As of April 30, 2019, the investment value of the Foundation was at $58,951,820 up from 55,512,241 at the end of October 2018. The assets remain prudently invested among common sectors under the guidance of UBS. We would like to use investment dollars to advance our mission in the community. Over the last six months we have worked with LOCUS to develop our policies and procedures for soliciting, evaluating, and executing impact investments. At our October Board meetings we met over two days to learn more about impact investments in several broad categories including:

• Traditional Equities (stocks) with screens to remove companies engaged in undesirable practices, or activist investor tactics to influence those practices.
• Local Investment Funds such as a CDFI
• Direct investments in things like building projects

Each of these have different levels of impact in our local community and require different levels of underwriting and monitoring. As we further develop our written policies to align these investment options with our mission, we will once again open up to specific investment opportunities. We are moving steadily and prudently to protect the assets of the foundation while expanding it’s positive influence.

Site Visit Schedule

The Beveridge Family Foundation accepts grant applications twice per year. As part of the process, we complete site visits for nonprofits we have not visited in several years, or where there have been significant changes. We have shifted the dates of the site visits later to avoid August and February dates which are difficult for many due to vacations and winter weather.

Our next deadline for funding is August 1, 2019. Visit the eligibility section of our website to start your application process now. Site visits will take place in September. We generally do NOT conduct a pre-application meeting, preferring to allow the applicants to put forward applications for those projects with the greatest impact and need, uninfluenced by what they think we might see as a priority.

Pioneer Valley Data Collaboration

We are pleased to join with our peers in an effort to better utilize data in our decision-making, and to make data more available to the community for the improved detection and analysis of issues. We are thankful to the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission for taking on much of the work in assembling and presenting the data, and to working with the constituents to determine data priorities. The site was unveiled for public access in January 2019 at an entertaining and well attended event. Check it out:

https://pioneervalleydata.org

Center for Effective Philanthropy – Grantee 360

We see the effects of good management in the nonprofits we fund. The use of data in questioning one’s own beliefs is an important aspect of continued improvement. In that spirit, we worked with the Center for Effective Philanthropy to survey our recent grantees to better understand our impact, processes, and performance. The survey results were collected in late 2018 and reviewed at our Board Meeting in April 2019. Thank you to all who participated in the confidential survey. The results showed that our grantees rate us in the top quartile of all funders having participated in the CEP survey. We are proud of these results and grateful for the recognition of our efforts. Still, we think we can do better and will continue to move forward in our desire to be transparent and impactful, as well as easy to engage.

Bev Bucks

Many people are feeling stress due to the heightened political drama and resulting harm to our social systems. Some feel helpless to effect real change in a complex world. Philanthropy is an area where you can have a real, positive, lasting impact.

Get involved with a non-profit organization you think is deserving and interesting. You can volunteer to help in their work, raise money, or increase awareness. Benefits include work experience, friendships with like-minded people, and a better understanding of how to work with others on a common goal. You will find that the time spent provides fulfillment well beyond most other endeavors.

Descendants of Frank Stanley Beveridge can make a pitch for the Foundation to provide funding of up to $5,000 to your chosen charity. All you need to do is to write a short appeal for the organization.

Include the following:

• Your name
• You email address
• The name of the organization you want to see given a grant
• The address
• A contact person including name, phone number, and email address
• The organization’s mission
• Why the organization is important
• What it means to you. Be sure to mention if you are involved with them, and how.

Be sure to describe any personal connection between you and the nonprofit. Email it to me at caswell@www.beveridge.org and I’ll get right back with you.

The deadline for submissions for Bev Bucks consideration this Fall will be October 1, 2019. There is a limited pool of funding available, so do your best to make a case for your favorite non-profit. It’s a good idea not to mention anything about the Bev Bucks opportunity to the selected charity until after an award has been granted by the board.

As always, we hope to hear from you. Be sure to check out www.beveridge.org for more information about the history and mission of the Beveridge Family Foundation.

Regards,

Ward S. Caswell
President
The Beveridge Family Foundation, Inc.
caswell@www.beveridge.org