For Immediate Release
Indiana’s Lumina Foundation Examined in New Project from Philanthropy Watchdog
NCRP’s Philamplify combines crowdsourcing with expert critiques in new groundbreaking website
Indianapolis, IN (5/6/2014) – Today, the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP) launched Philamplify, a new project aimed at bursting philanthropy’s “isolation bubble” to deliver honest feedback to grantmakers. Philamplify pairs comprehensive assessments of prominent foundations with an interactive website that gathers user-generated commentary on foundation practices. The Lumina Foundation for Education, one of the country’s largest foundations focused on postsecondary education attainment, is one of the first three grantmakers examined for the initiative’s launch.
Written by philanthropic evaluation expert Victor Kuo, “Lumina Foundation: Can a Champion for College Attainment Up Its Game?” highlights the organization’s strengths in education philanthropy and national policy, noting that the foundation’s clarity around achieving an ambitious goal and its commitment to addressing systemic inequities are highly praised. It also identifies ways that the foundation can boost its impact, including by doing more to engage those most affected by its work, such as parents, students and faculty, as well as integrating stakeholder input into strategy development.
“For countless students across the country, Lumina Foundation’s success will greatly impact their future,” said Aaron Dorfman, executive director of NCRP. “We hope that Lumina Foundation will seriously consider our recommendations so they can boost their chances of meeting their ambitious goal to increase college attainment among Americans to 60 percent by 2025.”
The Lumina Foundation, along with the Robert W. Woodruff Foundation in Atlanta and the William Penn Foundation in Philadelphia, were selected for the assessment because they are among the 100 top foundations in the U.S. Over time, Philamplify will evaluate other major foundations.
At the heart of Philamplify are individual foundation assessments conducted by top-notch researchers that provide a comprehensive examination of a foundation’s grantmaking and operations. These assessments incorporate feedback received from the foundation’s key stakeholders, including peer foundations, nonprofits, issue experts, members of the media and other individuals. All foundation assessment reports are made public on Philamplify.org where users can also weigh in.
Philamplify.org users have the option to remain anonymous, allowing all those whose lives are touched by philanthropy, from foundation leaders and staff to experts and community members, the opportunity to comment on and share their experiences with foundations in a safe space. In addition to providing commentary on the assessed foundations, users are also encouraged to offer their opinion on issues affecting the philanthropic sector, and share stories about the impact of philanthropy in their lives and communities. The site, which is free and open to everybody, also enables individuals to reach out to leaders of foundations that have been assessed.
View Philamplify’s Lumina Foundation video or visit http://philamplify.org/assessment/lumina-foundation-assessment/ to learn more about the foundation’s impact.
About NCRP
Since 1976, NCRP has served as the voice of nonprofits and the communities they serve in philanthropy. Through research and advocacy, NCRP works to ensure that philanthropy contributes in meaningful ways to the creation of a fair, just and equitable world. Visit www.ncrp.org for more information.
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