Case Study Research Public Health Grants: Exploring Grant Criteria Within Public and Private Foundations in Austin, Texas
Date
2006-12
Authors
Prentice, Tina Forward
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Abstract
This applied research project looked at the grant criteria commonly used to make funding decisions within public and private foundations in Austin, Texas. Eight executive directors, program officers, and/or board trustees from eight community health foundations were interviewed. The goal was to extract information about the requirements, qualities, and characteristics each foundation considered the most rewarding for a non-profit organization requesting funding.
Some of the foundations interviewed funded multiple initiatives, with public health being the common thread amongst them all. Interviews were conducted from September 8 to September 29, 2006. Document and archival data analysis and structured interviews with foundation officers provided evidence that either supported or refuted the five working hypotheses developed to determine the most desirable grant criteria within public health foundations.
The findings were in favor of each set of working hypotheses. Most of the public health foundations were created with a set of focus areas in mind to fund non-profit public health initiatives in the same field of expertise (WH1 : FOCUS AREAS). Most of the foundations exist to fund unmet social needs and often give preference to grant applicants who are able to communicate the scope of the unmet need in the community (WH2 : SOCIAL NEED).
The majority of the public health foundations want to have a significant impact on improving the health of Central Texans (the Austin area) and prefer grant applicants to provide proof of impact if funding needs are met (WH3 : IMPACT). The majority of the public health foundations looked highly upon sustainability within the organization and required grant applicants to provide proof of outside funding and collaborative efforts (WH4 : SUSTAINABILITY). Finally, an overwhelming number of public health foundations required grant applicants to exhibit sound financial practices and appropriate financial documents to prove the organization's financial accountability (WH5 : FINANCIAL ACCOUNTABILITY).
Description
An Applied Research Project Submitted to the Department of Political Science, Texas State University-San Marcos, in Partial Fulfillment for the Requirements for the Degree of Masters of Public Administration, Fall 2006.
Keywords
grant making, public foundations, private foundations, Austin, Texas, public health initiatives, Public Administration
Citation
Prentice, T. F. (2006). Case study research public health grants: Exploring grant criteria within public and private foundations in Austin, Texas. Masters of Public Administration, Texas State University, San Marcos, Texas.