Foundations have traditionally focused on doing good by providing funding to worthy social enterprises. Instead, foundations should set the higher goal of creating social value. A foundation creates social value when it generates greater social benefit for comparable cost, or achieves an equivalent social benefit with fewer dollars.

Foundations create value in four ways: selecting better grantees, signaling other funders, improving the performance of grantees, and improving knowledge about social problems. To create value, a foundation must devise a strategy that commits to the goal of superior performance, develops a unique area of focus and approach, aligns operations to the strategy, and defines concrete goals in its chosen fields to serve as the basis of evaluation. Many foundations have failed to approach philanthropy strategically, and thus have unrealized potential.

Measured Outcomes works with foundations to identify nonprofits that have been overlooked by funders in the past.

We help foundations discover smaller, previously unfunded, organizations that are offering responsible and effective services in their communities, regardless of size or geographic location.

We work with these newly funded organizations to:

• Monitor program outcomes
• Effectively communicate results
• Develop reporting systems
• Identify operational funding sources
• Manage assets