Response to Current Economic Conditions
St. Luke's Episcopal Health Charities (the Charities) is committed to Advancing Community Health: Body, Mind & Spirit. We intend to maintain this commitment despite the current economic climate.
As a result, we are aware that many nonprofit organizations are experiencing difficult challenges. In order to be most responsive, we would like to keep you apprised on a regular basis about how we can best serve you. Regarding grantmaking, the Charities is mindful of our commitment to the communities we serve, and we will make every effort to minimize reductions in funding. Like other foundations, we have seen a significant reduction in our assets. We use a 12 quarter averaging of asset values to determine how much we can distribute, our 2010 grantmaking budget was 10% less than our 2009 budget and we are anticipating another decrease in 2011/12. The Charities' first commitment is to our current grantees. Since 2011 will be another challenging year, we are not encouraging new programs or first-time applicants. In addition, inter-institutional funding requests for both large and small grants will not be considered.
The Charities will continue to fund grants for operating support and program services, as well as for organizational capacity building efforts to enhance effectiveness and leadership. Funding for capital requests is very limited and will be by invitation only.
As always, but with much more attention now, we are pursuing enhanced, strategic capacity building efforts. Along the same lines, our research focus for 2011/12 will serve to enhance these capacity building efforts, with the explicit intention of sustaining strong and healthy nonprofits. We envision more emphasis on collaboration, co-funding, and matching grants and encourage more dialogue with like-minded agencies. Together, we can continue to provide a strong safety net for those most in need and most underserved.
The Board of Directors and the staff of St. Luke's Episcopal Health Charities hope the above information is helpful and we invite you to contact our Director of Grants and Evaluation at 832-355-4984 or e-mail your questions to [email protected]. As always, we value your input and your innovative approach to helping the underserved.
