Financials

Guidelines for Resource Allocation, 2009-2010

During the current economic circumstances the Stuart Foundation remains committed to supporting organizations who are working on issues of great importance to children and youth in California and Washington. The Board of Directors also believes that it is important to manage the Foundation’s investments and expenditures in a way that will allow the Foundation to continue its support for organizations into the future. To balance these goals – while the value of the Foundation’s assets has declined – the percentage of assets allocated to grants in 2009 will increase.

The Foundation will allocate resources using the following guidelines:

Retaining the Core. The Foundation will give high priority to existing projects that most align with the Foundation’s strategic direction.

Implementing Foundation Strategy. The uncommitted grant dollars in the 2009 budget will be targeted to opportunities for launching new work that implements the Foundation-wide strategy.

Continuing Multi-Year Projects. Because the Foundation’s strategy envisions impact occurring over a long-term period, Foundation staff will continue to explore opportunities for multi-year projects that would be renewed yearly. Such multi-year recommendations will be limited to those projects that cannot be effective without some indication of support beyond a single year.

Filling Necessary Gaps. On a limited basis, staff will look for opportunities to support key projects where the impact of the economy has resulted in the loss of other philanthropic funders who have been unable to fulfill commitments. We will do this only in cases where necessary to preserve the integrity and capacity of our most critical investments, and allow those projects to continue their good work.

Providing Assistance Beyond the Grant. We will continue to support the work of our grantees beyond making the grant, including support for seminars, forums, and convenings; opportunities for collaboration; provision and facilitation of research and best practices; use of Foundation facilities; and assistance with communications and other technical needs.