Since 1945, the Foundation has addressed key needs in our region, making thousands of grants to organizations delivering a wide range of services. Over time, we have learned from our grantees and our community that many of the programs and services we support sometimes struggle in dysfunctional social systems, held in place by outdated or poorly conceived policies. Today, while we continue to fund organizations delivering services to meet regional needs, we simultaneously work to address the root causes of systemic problems that make it difficult to achieve a vision of Greater Philadelphia as a dynamic, diverse region with meaningful opportunity. We attempt to do this through grants that lead to fundamental changes in the policies and systems that affect the issues we care about, enabling us to amplify the impact of our resources, leveraging maximum benefit for our community.

A look at the Foundation’s work reveals an organization promoting policy and systems change in a number of areas: community development, early care and education, equity and quality in public education, protection of open spaces and watersheds, sustainable growth, support for arts and culture, and youth development. Through these efforts, we strive for a more livable, economically competitive region, with opportunity for all. Our grantmaking is designed to promote greater civic engagement and a more rational framework for investments in our region.

In order to effect change across such a broad range of policy areas, the Foundation uses a variety of tools, appropriate to each issue. In 2004, our annual report to identified and gave examples of five of these tools -- advocacy, capacity, collaboration, demonstration, and evidence. They are rooted in our core principles and remain relevant to our grantmaking approaches today.