Focus on Funders - Local Funding Partnerships
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Applying to Local Funding Partnerships
When you ask two groups of grantmakers about their experiences in becoming funding partners with the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation (RWJF) through the Local Funding Partnerships (LFP) program, you will receive many different responses. Here are some reflections shared by members of two funders’ collaboratives whose local projects received LFP awards in 2007.
From St. Louis, MO—funders of the Aging Out of Foster Care Initiative:
“LFP is not for the faint of heart, you need to be committed to the project. We share a common perspective with RWJF. The decision is not just about the money, it’s about the idea for the project.
“The LFP reviewers consider applications just as we do. We are not going to fund a new niche project for an agency that really supports the continuation of the work it’s already doing.”
Bridget McDermott Flood, executive director of the Incarnate Word Foundation
“When our group of health funders met for a holiday lunch in December 2004, we discussed what we wanted to do together and specifically what we could do that would qualify for LFP matching funds. Later we made sure that we
chose a lead agency that could qualify as an LFP applicant.
“However, all the local grantmakers committed to funding the project for three years whether it went forward with LFP or not! We agreed that helping these teens in foster care was an important issue in our community. When we received the LFP award all of the funders extended their grants to a fourth year to match the RWJF dollars.”
“Even though we had funded an LFP project previously, we weren’t sure whether our new project to help youth aging out of foster care would meet the RWJF criteria as a health program. We talked with LFP director Polly Seitz when she spoke at a funders’ meeting in St. Louis.
“Of course, she didn’t know what other projects we would be competing against for a limited number of LFP grants, but Polly reassured us that our definition of a vulnerable population and our emphasis on the health and safety of these teens would qualify to apply. I’ve found the LFP staff to be very candid and responsive to any questions we have had.”
From Boca Raton, FL—funders of the Caregiving Youth Project:
“I had been getting correspondence from RWJF and the thought of applying to LFP was definitely in the back of my mind. I felt we could try because we seemed to have all the right pieces: a newly identified problem, vulnerable population, creative solution, community buy-in, and supportive funding partners.
“We dream big. It was exciting to know that this project we believed in, had helped to develop and already funded would have a national foundation as a partner. We wanted those funds and that recognition for our community.”
Betsi Kassebaum, executive director of the Toppel Family Foundation
“Our foundation is always involved in bringing funding partnerships together. We typically make our grants in collaboration with others. So the LFP program seemed like a perfect fit.
“I enjoyed the process, it really stretched us. The application was very structured. We knew what LFP was looking for, it was easy to follow the directions. The site visit was very well done in the way that questions were asked of each member of the collaborative. At that time we had already been together almost a year and the pilot program was well underway. We are proud to welcome RWJF into our funding partnership.”
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