The Community Foundation has criteria by which staff and grant committee members review and evaluate grant applications. These criteria include Impact, Project Goals, Organizational Capacity, Stakeholder Support, and Partners. An Evaluation Rubric establishes criteria and standards for different performance levels and describes what performance looks like at each level.
The Evaluation Rubric provides a guide for organizations to prepare applications and reviews to be done with consistency and thoroughness. An organization or project is not required to be strong in all areas to receive funding, and funding decisions are not made strictly numerically.
Grantmaking supports the Community Foundation’s mission – “to improve the quality of life by inspiring generosity.” Responding to needs and opportunities in the community to achieve the most significant impact over time is the guiding purpose of the grantmaking process. In addition, as a steward of the community’s resources, the Community Foundation desires to support projects that are important to the community. Donations from the community to a project are indicators of community support and are a factor in funding decisions.