EVALUATING GRASSROOTS ORGANIZING AND ORGANIZATIONS: CHOOSING CO GROUPS TO FUND

Whatever rationale, goals and funding strategies new funders choose, the effectiveness of their CO grantmaking rests on the quality and performance of their grantees. All of the thoughtful ideas and guidance from others can add up to very little if funders' grant decisions are not very good. This is in part why experienced CO funders claim there is no substitute for getting into communities and talking with folks, listening and learning before making their decisions. No proposal or advice can tell a funder what a group looks, feels and smells like. Funders can minimize grantmaking mistakes through on-site interactions with CO groups, their staffs, leaders and constituents.

As one funder said in urging colleagues to conduct site visits before making grants, "even renowned winemakers taste each of their offerings each year to be sure they meet high standards."

Looking at the General Characteristics of Grassroots Organizations. Following are some key questions to ask.

• Does the organization involve large numbers of people in its geographic location?
• Are its members actively involved in the work of the organization in ways that go beyond subscribership or donating money?
• Is it democratic, with the leadership and staff accountable to the membership?
• What are its principle objectives?

		Developing the capacity of its members to participate effectively in public life?
		Delivering concrete victories on issues of direct concern to its constituency?
		Affecting institutions, public policies and power relationships in ways that advance social, environmental and economic justice?63

Grantmaking Criteria. Grant-making criteria vary from funder to funder. Most make few, if any, distinctions between the requirements for CO groups and those expected of other grantseekers. However, funders making a serious long-term commitment to CO have found it helpful to have a set of criteria that can help them to identify effective CO groups - as well as to distinguish CO groups from other kinds of community organizations.

One leading CO funder, the Unitarian Universalist Veatch Program at Shelter Rock, developed and uses the following checklist to evaluate CO groups.

Membership
	Does the organization have a membership or constituency base?
	Is there a membership recruitment plan? Does it include one-on-one engagement of people? Does membership recruitment play an important role in the organization? Is there a mechanism to retain current members?
	Does the membership reflect the diversity of the community?
	Is there active participation in the group by people of color and women? Are questions of race and gender addressed in the education and leadership development process of the group?

Leadership and Governance
	Is the organization democratic? Specifically, does the membership have some direct control over the decision-making process and structure of the organization? Over programmatic policies, the budget and staffing?
	Are members and leaders involved in all levels of the organization, including fundraising and financial oversight?
	Is the leadership elected, and actively changing every few years?
	Are people of color and women part of the decision-making and leadership bodies?
	Does the organization have an identifiable leadership development process?
	If the organization is staffed, are professional community organizers included in the staffing structure? Are they trained and regularly provided additional training opportunities?

Strategy
	Does the organizational mission identify the values of social, economic and environmental justice as part of its work?
	Does the group have the ability to realistically assess the political terrain and devise strategies to address their concerns in the long and short term?
	Does the organization think systematically about the education of its membership, leadership and staff?
	Is there evidence that the group works collaboratively in coalitions?
	Does the organization have a strategic plan in place that makes them viable and sustainable for the long haul?
	Is the organization developing its own culture, social relationships and celebrations?

Impact
	Is the organization developing creative solutions to difficult community problems?
	Does the organization have a record of and/or the capacity for delivering victories?
	Is the organization increasing the civic participation of communities traditionally left out of the political process?
	Does the organization have a stated method for organizational evaluation? Is the evaluatory process a measure of the objectives met as well as a learning tool for the organization?

Tips for Smaller Funders: One Funder's Perspective. With all of the CO groups and strategies to choose from, how can a small funder new to CO grantmaking wisely allocate resources? The Liberty Hill Foundation, a local foundation in Los Angeles, has nearly a quarter century of CO grantmaking experience. Funders with similar size or even far smaller allocations available for CO than Liberty Hill's may find elements of the Foundation's approach, as well as its overall strategy, worthy of further investigation.

The Liberty Hill Foundation makes some $3 million in grants annually, nearly all of them for CO or related efforts in the Los Angeles area. The Foundation's grantmaking strategy provides flexibility, allows coverage of a range of different groups and permits the Foundation to focus on top priorities. In its strategy, the Foundation seeks to achieve the best possible balance between the desirability and need to fund new CO groups, and requirements for long-term support to established CO organizations that can help them grow and address more difficult and complex challenges. Key elements of the strategy include:

• Flexible grantmaking categories that can provide both start-up grants for fledgling CO efforts as well as larger grants to intermediate-size platform or anchor CO groups;
• A single annual cycle per grant area or category, along with an interim funding option; and
• A combination of focused grant programs as well as ones that can accommodate various organizational needs and sizes.

In addition to its central grantmaking, the Foundation also provides small grants for technical assistance to grantees and frequently convenes grantees for training and technical assistance purposes.⁶⁴