Situation: After many years of giving, a prominent local family decided that while they enjoyed certain aspects of their giving, they wanted someone else to manage their grantmaking.

Solution: Hirsch & Associates was retained on a monthly basis to act as staff to organize and manage all aspects of the philanthropy. By serving as a filter for the family's giving, the firm enabled the family to stay involved in a capacity that fit their lifestyle. Services included:

• Screening and managing philanthropic requests, including coordinating meetings, fielding telephone and mail inquiries, and reviewing proposals.
  
  
• Scheduling, managing and preparing materials for family meetings, including financials, budgets, grant recommendations and presentations from organizations.
  
  
• Reviewing nonprofit requests for funding, evaluating proposals, visiting sites, researching options and viability, and making recommendations.
  
  
• Coordinating the family's grants management by staying abreast of developments in their particular areas of interest, coordinating with grantees, managing the database, tracking grants and providing reporting.

PROGRAM DEVELOPMENT

Situation: A client with experience in philanthropy was ready to take on a new project for the community.

Solution: Hirsch & Associates was hired to help define and implement a plan that provided a much-needed service to a disadvantaged population within the community. In turn, the client reaped the benefits of seeing the project completed and enjoyed. Services included:

• Facilitating conversations to determine the client's interests, desired involvement, amount of gift, timeframe and structure for decision-making.
  
  
• Assessing community need by interviewing key stakeholders, working with contacts in the field and conducting literature reviews.
  
  
• Overseeing development, researching funding areas, designing grantmaking initiatives and requests for proposal, recruiting an advisory board and supporting implementation.
  
  
• Making fund recommendations after reviewing grant proposals and conducting due diligence.
  
  
• Identifying potential funding partners in order to leverage resources.
  
  
• Evaluating the program as needed.

CREATING A STRUCTURE

Situation: A family new to philanthropy wanted help setting up guidelines and infrastructure before taking on any initiatives.

Solution: Hirsch & Associates began with an interview process to capture the family's values, interests and styles. Through analysis, research and consensus building, the firm developed a set of giving guidelines, a decision-making process and systems for working together that fit their individual lifestyles.

GRANTMAKING MENTOR

Situation: A family new to philanthropy started a foundation. The family members had been giving to their alma maters and children's schools and now wanted to become grantmakers. In the long run, they would like to run the foundation on their own.

Solution: Hirsch & Associates acted as a mentor and guide through the family's first grant cycle. By facilitating discussions, assisting with research and conducting site visits, the firm helped the family hone their grantmaking skills, enabling them to make their first grants by year-end.

LEGACY & DONOR INTENT

Situation: A donor with a family foundation wanted to ensure that his intent for the foundation was clearly defined for future generations.

Solution: Working with the donor and family members, Hirsch & Associates created a plan to bring the next generation on the board, revising the structure of the foundation to accommodate an influx of assets from the donor's estate while working to articulate his vision.

NEW FOUNDATION

Situation: A new foundation needed help in setting up its governance and guidelines.

Solution: Through a series of meetings and discussions with the family, Hirsch & Associates developed a set of recommendations for governance and grantmaking guidelines for the family's foundation. Working with the attorney managing the application process, the firm developed the by-laws that would govern the foundation.

NEW INITIATIVE

Situation: A family wanted to do a charitable project together, but didn't know what the project might be.

Solution: Hirsch & Associates worked with the family for a year to define the project and create an implementation plan. During Phase I, the firm completed a needs assessment, leveraged relationships to form a public/private partnership, created an operating foundation, developed communications, provided community outreach, and hired staff and consultants. Phase II- the implementation of the project-is projected to take five years to complete.