Current Projects

Upcoming Activities

In October 2007, Valley Nonprofit Resources (of which HIRI is one of four partner organizations—see project description below) will present an invitational seminar for donors and staff of small family foundations located in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles. The seminar will discuss technical assistance and learning resources these small foundations can access in the region, and also will offer an opportunity for networking and peer-to-peer learning. The seminar will be led by philanthropist and former Los Angeles City Councilwoman Joy Picus, and Lawrence Welk Foundation Vice-President Shirley Welk Fredricks.

Current Projects

PHILANTHROPIC CAPACITY BUILDING RESOURCES (2002 - 2008) supported by John S. & James L. Knight Foundation, Bruner Foundation, Ewing M. Kauffman Foundation, Agnes and Eugene Meyer Foundation, The California Wellness Foundation, Southern California Association for Philanthropy, The California Endowment, Unihealth Foundation, Carnegie Corporation, Surdna Foundation, William and Flora Hewlett Foundation
Creating and maintaining a national database on foundation funded or operated nonprofit capacity building programs; creating a directory of Los Angeles capacity building resources, as part of community infrastructure-building for San Fernando Valley and the greater Los Angeles area; creating a directory of capacity building resources for the Central Valley area of California; conducting national research on topics such as foundation financing of capacity building.

PROSPER DISSEMINATION AND SYSTEMS CHANGE SUPPORT (2002 - 2007) supported by National Institute on Drug Abuse/Iowa State University
Providing support on dissemination and systems change strategies to the PROSPER Project (PROmoting School-community-university Partnerships to Enhance Resilience), which is studying the efficacy of partnerships between agricultural extension and other community organizations in addressing youth development and youth problem-solving in areas like substance abuse prevention.

CMHS KNOWLEDGE APPLICATION PROGRAM (2004 - 2009) supported by Center for Mental Health Services/Westat
Designing and conducting, in partnership with Westat, a program for increasing the dissemination and utilization of innovative mental health services for homeless and severely mentally ill people; synthesizing dissemination and social marketing strategies for providers, funders, community organizations, professional associations and the general public.

TRANSFORMATIONAL CHANGE IN FOUNDATIONS (2005 - 2007) supported by Annie E. Casey Foundation
Exploring strategies American foundations have used to make major changes in their philanthropic strategy and overall operations; and how these fit with larger trends in philanthropy, the nonprofit sector and public policy. A major focus is placed on peer networking approaches used both internally and externally by the Annie E. Casey Foundation.

DWIGHT STUART YOUTH FOUNDATION CAPACITY-BUILDING INITIATIVE (2006 - 2009) supported by Dwight Stuart Youth Foundation
Developing and administering a capacity-building grantmaking initiative for the Dwight Stuart Youth Foundation, which supports youth-serving nonprofit organizations in Southern California, including a comprehensive needs assessment and opportunity analysis, creating online resources nonprofits can use, and supporting operation of a multi-part grantmaking initiative.

IMPLEMENTING EVIDENCE-BASED YOUTH VIOLENCE PREVENTION PROGRAMS: WHAT COMMUNITY AGENCIES WANT (2005 - 2007) supported by Centers for Disease Control & Prevention/University of California Riverside
Conducting a survey of youth-serving agencies in Orange County, California about what information and technical assistance would increase their utilization of evidence-based youth violence prevention programs; and conducting an interview study of thought leaders on the same subject.

VALLEY NONPROFIT RESOURCES (2007 - 2009) supported by Unihealth Foundation and other funders
conducted by the Institute in partnership with California State University Northridge, MEND, and Volunteer Center of Los Angeles
Providing comprehensive capacity-building information and services to the more than 4,000 nonprofits in the San Fernando Valley region of Los Angeles, using an innovative virtual model with dispersed performance sites, a range of funders, and a partnership of four Valley organizations. VNR has its own website, www.valleynonprofitresources.org.

SAMHSA COMMUNICATIONS PLAN SUPPORT (2007 - 2009) supported by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration/Macro International
Assisting the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration in creating its first strategic communications plan. The plan will help the SAMHSA Office of Communication to better support SAMHSA's mission to build resilience and facilitate recovery for people addressing the challenges of mental illness and/or substance abuse.

SAMHSA HEALTH INFORMATION NETWORK NEEDS SENSING STUDY (2007 - 2011) supported by Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration/IQ Solutions
Providing input to the Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration through an annual needs sensing study. The study will help shape the information services and products of SAMHSA's Health Information Network, which includes the National Clearinghouse for Alcohol and Drug Information and the National Mental Health Information Clearinghouse.

DONOR ADVISORS AND STRATEGIC PHILANTHROPY (2007 - 2008) supported by William & Flora Hewlett Foundation
Conducting an interview study of six categories of "trusted advisors" to wealthy donors—private bankers, trust attorneys, accountants, wealth managers, philanthropic advisors and family office managers—and their roles in helping donors develop and implement philanthropic strategies.

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