Santa Barbara Foundation's Report Card In 2004, the Santa Barbara Foundation contracted with the Center for Effective Philanthropy to survey grantees on their perceptions of the Foundation. Of the 117 Santa Barbara County nonprofits surveyed, 78 percent or 91 agencies responded to the confidential survey. The Center for Effective Philanthropy has surveyed a total of 22,000 grantees at 117 foundations nationwide and the cumulative data was used to compare the Santa Barbara Foundation’s performance against that of our peers
Areas where the Foundation received high marks:
Impact and understanding of the community
Responsive, fair and approachable staff
Clarity in communicating the Foundation’s goals and strategies
Areas where the Foundation can improve:
Increase in size of grants
Low “dollar return” on grantee administrative hours
Assistance to grantees in securing funding from other sources, such as introducing grantees to other funders
Staff has a very high number of applications and active grants, preventing supplemental technical assistance
Changes already implemented:
A simplified grant renewal form for second- and third-year program funding has been developed
The Mandatory Technical Assistance Workshop is now optional for applicants with a successful funding track record
The length of the workshop has been shortened and is now offered at two locations more convenient to most nonprofits
Staff and Trustees at the Foundation continue to discuss other findings of the Grantee Perception Report and look forward to implementing additional changes.
