As a national foundation whose mission is to use the power of effective ideas to help catalyze beneficial change, we depend on establishing and maintaining strong, effective partnerships with grantees:

• The organizations we fund to develop and test innovative solutions to important social issues;
• The researchers that we commission to contribute to the field’s knowledge and to help evaluate what is and is not working; and
• Our communications partners whose efforts are crucial in getting both issues and solutions before policymakers, practitioners and thought leaders.

Because Wallace’s mission and approach go beyond grant-making and are focused on building credible, useful knowledge in the fields in which we work, the experience of working with Wallace may be different from your experiences with other foundations. There are several reasons for this.

First and foremost, a key goal of our partnerships with exemplary organizations is to test innovative ideas “on the ground,” and then capture and share lessons from that work that can benefit many other organizations. For that reason, we ask grantees to help us gather credible evidence about why a particular idea or practice was more or less successful. Second, we place a high premium on regular communication and candid assessment of the ongoing work. This can help grantee organizations and Wallace staff to identify areas that are working well or that call for course corrections. Finally, we take seriously our own accountability as a foundation for using philanthropic resources wisely and therefore, we regularly assess whether the work we are funding is creating hoped-for results and benefits.

Making the relationship work: a commitment to open communication

Many of the specific features of the relationship with Wallace are spelled out in your grant agreement and scopes of work. Regardless of those specifics, the essential key to successful partnerships between Wallace and its grantees is a mutual commitment to open, candid, timely and respectful communications.

From Wallace staff you can expect:

• Clear, consistent communications – Wallace is strongly committed to being clear and consistent in its goals, strategies and expectations at every phase of the work and in all forms of communications with grantees.
• Approachability – Because we are in the “learning and lessons” business, we encourage mutual candor in all aspects of our relationships with grantees. We will seek to make you feel entirely comfortable approaching us when your funded work runs into obstacles or the unforeseen. This will allow us to take a constructive, problem-solving approach when the work hits the inevitable rough spots.
• Responsiveness – It is our policy to respond to emails or phone inquiries within 48 hours and written communications within five business days. If the person needed to respond to your inquiry is not available, we will acknowledge receipt of that inquiry within these timeframes and let you know when you can expect a response. We will also acknowledge and briefly comment on your grant reports within 30 days of receipt.

Wallace, in turn, expects its grantees to:

• Share emerging knowledge with Wallace and other grantees – We will ask you to attend Wallace-sponsored convenings to share your experiences, expertise and insights with other grantees and to hear from outside experts. Such meetings are also an opportunity for the Foundation to learn more about the challenges and opportunities facing its grantees.
• Cooperate in data- and knowledge-gathering activities – Fact-gathering and sharing are at the heart of our partnerships with grantees. Therefore, we will make periodic requests for data and progress reports over the life of your grant. In addition, under the terms of your grant you may be required to participate in research and evaluation projects commissioned by Wallace when there is evidence of lessons or results from your work that would be of broad interest.
• Keep in touch with your Wallace staff contact – For most routine matters, you will be assigned a Wallace contact for your grant. Because Wallace works in integrated teams that combine program, research and communications staff expertise, it is also likely that on occasion you will be in contact with staff from one or more of these different perspectives. As mentioned, we make every effort to be accessible and you are encouraged to contact anyone at the Foundation as needs arise.

In addition, because the quality of our relationship with grantees is so important, we have created three ways for grantees to provide feedback during the year about how well our relationship is working:

1. You can write to granteefeedback@wallacefoundation.org. This email box will be regularly reviewed by Wallace’s senior management team.
2. You can offer feedback confidentially by writing to wallacefeedback@effectivephilanthropy.org. We have engaged the Center for Effective Philanthropy to provide a feedback venue for those of you who would prefer to remain anonymous. They have a strong record of treating sources and informants with appropriate protections and without revealing the identity of sources.
3. You can write directly to our president, Christine DeVita, at cdevita@wallacefoundation.org.

We hope that current grantees will take advantage of these communication vehicles as well as other opportunities throughout the year to let us know how we can continue our efforts to be a good partner in developing and testing innovative ideas, sharing solutions, and expanding opportunities for the people we serve.