Excellence in private foundation philanthropy isn’t merely an ideal. At Foundation Source, it’s our business, as the example below demonstrates.
Challenge:
The board of the Charles R. Wood Foundation carries on the work of its late founder by supporting children, the arts, and healthcare in upstate New York.
While traveling in rural North Carolina, the president of the foundation read an article in the local newspaper about Dolly Parton’s Imagination Library program and its outreach to the region. This national program, which is available to any community, mails a book to children under five years of age each month. The purpose of the program is to boost early childhood literacy and foster a love of reading.
As the Charles R. Wood Foundation wanted to promote childhood literacy in upstate New York’s rural counties, they asked their Private Client Advisor at Foundation Source to get them information on how they could get involved.
Collaboration:
The Private Client Advisor contacted the Dollywood Foundation, which was able to provide the demographic research the foundation required to assess regional need. Dollywood also identified possible literary agencies that might be willing to partner with the Charles R. Wood Foundation. Foundation Source coordinated the effort by discussing the program with the Literacy Volunteers of Clinton County, who agreed to handle the child registration process.
Foundation Source has streamlined the entire application process, saving the foundation significant time and administrative effort. The foundation is very pleased with their new process, but we revisit it each year and continue to refine it based on their evolving needs.
Outcome:
The Foundation now supports the Imagination Library program, enabling 3,500 children in Clinton, Essex, Franklin, and Hamilton counties to participate. The foundation is thrilled that Foundation Source could help connect them with the necessary partners to make this project happen, and they appreciate how easy we’ve made it for them to track its results, procuring semi-annual updates for their review.
ABOUT FOUNDATION SOURCE
At Foundation Source, we help foundations advance their missions by leveraging their entire charitable toolkit. Our in-house tax, legal, administrative, and philanthropic experts give every client capacities once reserved for just the largest, professionally staffed foundations, making the impossible suddenly doable.
