The goal of the Foundation’s grantmaking is not to sustain a nonprofit indefinitely, but to help it achieve within an agreed-upon time frame significant scale and the highest level of proven program effectiveness possible. Ideally, a grantee will reach a stage of sustainable growth where it can secure reliably renewable public and/or private funding for a scientifically evaluated program and no longer needs our support. At this point the Foundation expects to conclude its investment and exit successfully.

Not every investment is equally successful, however. The Foundation is continually reassessing its portfolio to make sure it is realizing the highest possible social return. Such a review may lead us to reallocate resources and end our relationship with a grantee through no fault of the grantee’s own. In other instances the Foundation may decide to end a relationship when:

• The grantee does not meet performance milestones and additional support does not enable it to reach them within a reasonable period of time; or
• The grantee’s priorities and capacity change significantly and no longer align with the Foundation’s grantmaking goals.

Even in these instances, the Foundation’s support is designed to leave the grantee a stronger organization than when EMCF’s investment began, consistent with the principle, “First, do no harm.”