Beyond the Numbers: Understanding the Deeper Impact of the Foundation’s Grantmaking
The Foundation for a Healthy High Point has partnered with Lija Greenseid, a credentialed research consultant and evaluation partner, to perform external reviews of the Foundation’s funded activities and collective impact.
Lija brings valuable expertise to our work, providing a unique perspective and analytical view to the reports that we receive. As a program evaluator, Lija values learning and reflection in addition to measuring results, because they provide the context and wisdom needed for growth. The Foundation shares this commitment. Through continuous learning, we are able to see beyond the numbers, to tell the real, human stories of work funded by the Foundation and to generate insights and reflections among funded partners, community leaders, and Foundation staff.
The first two impact reports below each highlight key Foundation investments. In both cases, the reports reveal significant successes alongside important lessons. Going forward, these reports will serve as a collaborative tool, helping us to develop and share knowledge to strengthen future philanthropic strategies and to amplify the Foundation and partner’s collective impact on the High Point community.
Children’s Law Center’s Custody Advocacy Program
The Foundation supported the Children’s Law Center of Central North Carolina (CLC) with a three-year, $122,250 investment to expand its Custody Advocacy Program in High Point. This program provides court-appointed attorneys (Guardians ad Litem) for children in high-conflict custody or domestic violence cases. The Foundation’s funding helped CLC serve 30 High Point children over three years, up from five the prior year. Research on the program finds that violence only recurred in 28% of families with a CLC attorney, compared to about 70% without support. The Foundation’s investment served as a catalyst for CLC to secure additional funding, ensure sustainability, and develop a new strategic plan to expand the model statewide.
YMCA of High Point’s Y Readers Program
The Foundation’s investment of $80,000 over two years launched the YMCA’s Y Readers Summer Learning Loss Prevention Program. This free, five-week summer literacy program for students reading below grade level served over sixty students in its first two years at the Hartley and Chavis YMCAs. Participants achieved an average net gain of over 4.25 months of reading growth compared to the expected summer loss, an outcome valued by parents and teachers alike. Future plans include growing to three sites serving over one hundred students by continuing the programs at Oak View and Fairview Elementary in High Point and launching the program in Randolph County.
We invite you to explore the impact of these projects with us as we continue to learn how to build a healthier High Point. We hope that they will serve as a portrait of the human impact of our work and provide you with important evaluation and communication support.