OUr approach
The Provident Health Foundation is a Private Foundation, meaning we are required by the IRS to grant. However, the approach we take to grantmaking is largely up to our Board of Directors. Through careful community research, evidence-based best practices, and needs assessments, our Board has determined the best course of operation that both meets the community’s needs and furthers Provident’s mission. Read on to learn more about that approach.
OUR philosophy
How we fund is evolving as we become more established and as we listen and respond to the needs of our community, both the residents of these counties and the nonprofits with which we partner. Our philosophy of operating is born from the vision of health for Marinette and Menominee Counties that we have written into our bylaws and evidence-based best practices for private foundations on how to achieve that vision. The Provident Health Foundation Board of Directors codifies that in a Strategic Plan for Provident every three years.
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Because of how we were funded, we can take a long-term view. This is why we grant “earlier rather than later” and focus on programs for kids, teens, & families. We are focusing on childhood investments that prevent mental, behavioral, and physical issues later in life. Along with that, we have started to address the Social Determinants of Health that impact the health behaviors we emphasize.
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We are looking to create stronger institutional systems conducive to a healthier community rather than focusing solely on downstream individual interventions with our funding.
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We believe in building a transparent and trusting relationship with the agencies we fund. By establishing and nourishing these relationships with our partners, honest conversations about community needs & workable solutions become more feasible.
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Our staff does not conduct programs to fulfill our mission; we rely on the agencies we fund to conduct the programs. This allows us to keep our operational costs low and our giving amounts high.
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Sustainability is important. We need to ensure we are helping nonprofits in our community, not making them dependent on us for funding. We help organizations create plans and sustainability in mind. We value evidence-based programs as well as measurability.
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What bridge? Despite a state line separating our two service areas, we are one community. We use our funds to extend programs into both Marinette & Menominee counties.
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We value collaboration. We will make connections where we can, serve as a catalyst where needed, and believe that collaboration creates a rising tide that raises all ships.
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We meet with everyone, whether their grant application is successful or not.
We’ll meet before, during, and after the grant application process. Our goal is to have a transparent relationship with applicants and to help applicants have as strong an application as possible. We use these meetings to listen and learn, and then we take that information to inform our grant making, capacity building, and catalyst work.
we don’t fundraise
We have invested the initial funds that started Provident and treat it like an endowment, so we grant from and operate off of the interest and dividends. We don’t compete against our grantees for funding.
