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Sharing lessons learned in practice is crucial
to creating an environment that will encourage
discussion and advance the field. In this spirit,
the Foundation offers a selection of reports,
case studies, tools and essays from our staff
as well as outside experts. |
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Convenings: Why a Non-grantmaking Strategy is So Important
Grantee convenings have been an important non-grantmaking strategy for Marguerite Casey Foundation since its inception in 2001. Convenings provide grantees an opportunity to collaborate, enable grantees to build stronger networks and improve their capacity to contribute to Movement Building. Five regional grantee convenings were held in 2006 and early 2007; this report presents an overview of the proceedings and the key lessons learned about Movement Building. Click Here |
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From Our President
Why
We Put Families First
After completing one full year of grantmaking,
Marguerite Casey Foundation President Luz Vega-Marquis
reflects on the central role that families play
in the work of the Foundation, and why it is
important to reiterate – and reaffirm – the
strategic underpinnings of this family-based
approach.
Movement
Building
Over the past eighteen months, the Marguerite
Casey Foundation has spent a good deal of time
engaged in conversation with people in low-income
communities. We convened a series of Listening
Circles across the country and invited not only
local “experts” but also parents
and youth. When we asked their advice on how
they would spend $30 million dollars a year to
benefit low-income families, they thought hard
and spoke from the heart.
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From Our Board
The
Power and Promise of Philanthropy in
the Lives of Vulnerable Children, Youth,
and Families
A speech by Dr. Freeman Hrabowski III, Board
Treasurer
"In many ways, the first decade of this century has become a defining period
in the evolution of our nation. On the one hand, we see more Americans thriving,
more scientific breakthroughs, and more indices of human progress than ever before;
on the other hand, we find millions of children and families in poverty. In the
wake of September 11th, 2001, we all live in great uncertainty, but these are
particularly trying times for our nation’s vulnerable children and families.
Never has education been more critical to shaping values and determining the
future of our nation; never have the power and promise of philanthropy been more
important."
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Tools For The Field
Organizational
Capacity Assessment Tool
The Marguerite Casey Foundation Organizational
Capacity Assessment Tool is a self-assessment
instrument that helps nonprofits identify capacity
strengths and challenges and establish capacity
building goals. It is primarily a diagnostic
and learning tool. Results from the Assessment
can also help grantmakers deepen their understanding
of the current capacity of their grantees as
well as track their growth in capacity over time.
We are pleased to offer the use of our Organizational Capacity Assessment Tool. You and your organization are welcome to use the Tool through the Marguerite Casey Foundation website.
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Annual Reports
Marguerite Casey Foundation 2006 Annual Report
Marguerite Casey Foundation is proud to share the voices of our grantees and their constituents in the Foundation's 2004 Annual Report.
 Marguerite
Casey Foundation 2005 Annual Report
Thanks to the work of our grantees as they work on national issues at the local level, Marguerite Casey Foundation is more resolute than ever that a movement of working families can transform society.
 Marguerite
Casey Foundation 2004 Annual Report
Marguerite Casey Foundation is proud to
share the voices of our grantees and their constituents
in the Foundation's 2004 Annual Report.
Marguerite
Casey Foundation 2003 Annual Report
No two voices are alike. Each has its own tone,
volume, timbre, and depth. Some speak gently
and guide by quiet example. Others sing or shout
to uplift a crowd. The Marguerite Casey Foundation
2003 Annual Report contains grantee profiles,
a history of the Foundation, financial data,
a list of grantees, and more. 
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Formative Papers
In July 2002, the Foundation concluded a four-month
long nationwide information gathering process
intended to provide the basis of its grantmaking
strategy. This comprehensive fact-finding program
was designed to help the staff and Board solicit
advice from many of the nation’s leading
thinkers in the fields of child and family welfare
and consisted of four key elements:
- Forty “Thinking Papers”
- Six Listening Circles
- Phone interviews with more than a dozen experts
throughout the country
- An environmental scan of relevant private
funder initiatives
Throughout its information gathering, the Foundation’s
leaders sought to challenge common assumptions
about healthy families and the factors that threaten
them. The findings of this research are summarized
below.
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Findings
of Thinking Pieces (150kb)
Despite the disparate experiences and viewpoints
of the many authors of the commissioned thinking
pieces, several ideas and concepts appeared
again and again in the papers. Marguerite
Casey Foundation asked Imagio | J. Walter
Thompson to summarize the findings of the
40 plus thinking pieces, and distill the
best ways to support families.
- Listening
Circle Report (278kb)
This report was commissioned from the T.L.
Hill group to document the ideas generated
at Marguerite Casey Foundation’s Listening
Circle forums. The Listening Circle gatherings
occurred in six cities across the nation
and brought together a unique mixture of
families, community leaders, state and city
officials and activists, all of whom shared
their insights on improving the lives of
children, youth and families.
- The
Economic and Family Situation of
Children in the U.S. and Selected
States: 1990 and 1997- 2001 Executive
Summary and Overview (772kb)
An overview of poverty, family, work and
parental presence in the homes of children
for major race/ethnic, immigrant generation,
and age groups around 1990 and the late 1990's,
focusing particularly on the nine states
of California, New York, Texas, Florida,
Illinois, Massachusetts, Mississippi, New
Mexico, and South Dakota. Written by Donald
J. Hernandez, Ph.D.
- The
Economic and Family Situation of
Children in the U.S. and Selected
States: 1990 and 1997 – 2001
Final Report (877kb)
A detailed report discussing the demography
of children during 1989/1990 and 1998/1999
and the demography of young adults during
1998/1999 regarding their chances of living
in (1) poor or near-poor families, (2) working-poor
or working-near-poor families, and (3) two-parent
or one-parent families. Results are presented
for the U.S., and for the states of California,
New York, Texas, Florida, Illinois, Massachusetts,
Mississippi, New Mexico, and South Dakota.
Written by Donald J. Hernandez, Ph.D.
At the National Press Club in Washington, D.C.
on October 18th, the Foundation released "Different
Incomes, Common Dreams", the most comprehensive
study that looks at the attitudes of Americans,
particularly low-income families' attitudes,
before and after Hurricane Katrina.
Survey
Findings
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Evaluation and Open Dialogue
 Native
Gathering
A meeting with Native American elders,
activists, select funders and scholars.
 Building
a Foundation to Support a Movement
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Case Studies and Reports from
the Field
 A
Report from the ACORN Financial Justice
Center
Increasing incomes and reducing the rapid
refund rip-off. Expanding access to the earned
income tax credit for working families while
reducing reliance on refund anticipation loans.
 Southern
Echo Case Study
Jackson, Mississippi. Building a movement
in the rural south: a challenging backdrop.
 Labor/Community
Stategy Center Case Study
Los Angeles, California. 15 years of overcoming
organizing challenges in L.A.
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