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Grantee Perception Report
Learning from our grantees and community
Takeaway
At St. David’s Foundation, we prioritize continuous learning and improvement as a way to reflect and embody our commitment to health equity. Fundamental to this learning is understanding not only our community, but also grantees who are on the ground serving Central Texans. To do this, we need to create opportunities to receive candid feedback and, along with other feedback and data, consider opportunities to evolve our thinking and protocols.
That’s why we partner with the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) to conduct a survey of our grantees and produce a Grantee Perception Report (GPR) every few years. This report is especially valuable because it provides relevant benchmarking against peer funders, helping us gauge where we are in our field as well as in our community.
Our most recent survey took place in the fall of 2021, and the findings show that our work to become a place-based, community-driven equity funder is aligned with the needs of our grantees and the community. They also reflect the ways in which we have pivoted, allowing for more flexible funding when unexpected public health emergencies occur.
While the findings point to progress made in our grantmaking process since our last report was published in 2019, they also point to areas where we can grow as a funder. The most relevant findings, along with our commitments to address feedback received, fall into five major thematic areas:
- Be a community leader and change maker.
- Provide more insight into our thinking and strategy.
- Continue to make process improvements to be more inclusive of new grantees.
- Continue to be transparent around our journey toward equity, diversity, and inclusion.
- Foster collaboration by organizing convenings and trainings for grantees.
The GPR is an important tool for us to assess and improve our work, but it is not our only method of community engagement. All grantees and community members are welcome to provide feedback on how we can better serve Central Texans. We invite you to download and read this report and reach out to us with any thoughts or questions by emailing [email protected].