The Investment Process

The ballot language authorizing the Children's Investment Fund requires that investments be made in programs supporting early childhood, after-school and mentoring and child abuse prevention and intervention. Leverage Fund investments were confined to these three program areas. The Children's Investment Fund sought investments of a minimum of $250,000 in which its public funds were matched at least dollar for dollar with private funds.

The Children's Investment Fund also used the Leverage Fund to provide local matching funds to organizations applying for federal or national foundation grants for programs in the three mission areas. The matching funds provided by the Children's Investment Fund to a local organization were a minimum of $100,000 and each Children's Investment fund dollar leveraged at least two federal or national foundation dollars.

Partnerships with Private Funders: The Children's Investment Fund retained the Metropolitan Group to reach out to local and regional funders, identify projects of mutual interest in the three program areas described above and negotiate partnerships with funders to invest in specific projects. When an interested funder and a qualifying project was identified, the organization proposing the project was required to submit a program summary to the Children's Investment Fund. The program summary included the following:

• A description that includes program components and activities, the number of children to be served, the duration and intensity of the service, and the population served.

• Research that supports the efficacy of the program model, program elements or the specific program proposed.

• Proposed outcomes of the program selected from a list of common outcomes tracked by all grantees of the Children's Investment Fund.

• A budget and budget narrative that specifies how all Children's Investment Fund dollars will be used.

• If the organization has not been funded by the Children's Investment Fund in the past, information documenting cultural competency of the organization.

• If the organization has not been funded by the Children's Investment Fund in the past, an audit for the organization's last closed fiscal year.

Children's Investment Fund staff reviewed the program summary and made a recommendation to the Allocation Committee regarding whether the proposal met the Fund's standards and whether the Committee should enter into the partnership. The Allocation Committee made decisions on whether to pursue the partnership and on what terms.

Local Matching Funds: Organizations seeking to use the Leverage Fund as matching funds in proposals for federal or national foundation grants must submit a copy of the grant proposal to Children's Investment Fund staff at least two weeks before the grant submission deadline. The grant proposal must contain the Program Summary information described above, or this information must be submitted in an accompanying document. The grant proposal and/or accompanying document must specifically describe how Children's Investment Fund monies will be used, and must also provide the date or month that grant awards will be announced by the federal government or national foundation.

Children's Investment Fund staff will review the proposal, determine whether it meets criteria for investment, and decide whether or not to employ the Leverage Fund in the amount of the request.

If staff approves the request for matching funds, staff will provide a letter of commitment to the organization requesting matching funds for submission with the grant proposal. Applicants must provide a final copy of the grant proposal to the Children's Investment Fund. If staff does not approve the request for matching funds, staff will promptly notify the organization requesting funds and provide a reason for the denial.

ALL REQUIRED SUBMISSIONS TO THE CHILDREN'S INVESTMENT FUND DESCRIBED ABOVE MUST BE EMAILED TO LISA PELLEGRINO AT: EPELLEGRINO@CI.PORTLAND.OR.US.