Issue link: https://nebusinessmedia.uberflip.com/i/1526507
15 To ensure that a grant proposal re- mained on track for major Synergy Initia- tive projects, Dr. Yost introduced a novel idea to the grantmaking process: the use of professional evaluators. ese evaluators oversee and guide every step, from the initial proposal stage to the final report. In fact, 10% to 15% of a Synergy Initiative grant is dedicated to evaluation. Not only does the grant-funded project benefit from ongoing evaluation, but the entity leading the project learns more about its own inner workings and how to become a better, more efficient, and effective organization. Dr. Yost also brought an important yet oen overlooked focus on long-term sustainability. For some projects, sustain- ability beyond the grant's end date would require legislative change to extend its results long into the future and, in some cases, expand the impacts beyond Cen- tral Massachusetts to other parts of the state. In order to accomplish this, Dr. Yost successfully advocated that e Health Foundation maintain its 501(c)(4) status, allowing the organization to lobby, some- thing private foundations typically are unable to do. "To me, this [ability to advocate and lob- by] is worth far more than the money," Dr. Yost said. "A foundation can fund a long- term project with a well-planned pilot that is implemented. You can show with data how much the program saves and what little money it takes to make it work." In addition to documented health out- 2001 Staff "From day one, the board was interested in results. The founding distinctive characteristics of the organization have shaped The Health Foundation's success." Dr. Jan Yost comes, economic cost savings can some- times be presented to the legislature as evidence of success in a particular health sector and provide a reason for the state to sustain the model. "ese data have the power to change the system," she noted. e Activation Fund was also initiated, providing organizations with one-year grants averaging approximately $50,000 in the earlier years. ese funds were intend- ed to help grantees develop new approach- es to a health problem, create new part- nerships, improve processes, and explore emerging issues, among other goals. In 1999, e Health Foundation began with $60 million in initial assets. During the last 25 years, it invested most of the assets and granted more than $56 million to more than 230 nonprofit organizations. e Health Foundation measures its success by the significant and sustained policy changes it has achieved in diverse areas, including children's health, behavior- al health, housing and homelessness, oral health, food insecurity, transportation, well water safety, prisoner reentry programs, and other issues related to the social deter- minants of health. roughout Dr. Yost's nearly 23-year tenure, the organization never wavered in its dedication to serving the health-related needs of the residents of Central Massa- chusetts. "e founding principles are solid and still implemented," she said. n New Foundation's Goal: Improving Health