The ability to effectively review and analyze proposals is among the most important skills for both foundation board, trustees and staff.  It is critical to be able to examine a grant applicant's program, governance and finances, and then ask appropriate questions. Participants in this session will learn practical tools to make informed grantmaking decisions from Laura Kind McKenna, Managing Trustee of the Patricia Kind Family Foundation as she discusses the process that she uses to evaluate a nonprofit organization.

Laura will share the specific ways that The Patricia Kind Family Foundation conducts proposal review and analysis, including their procedures since launching an online grant management system two years ago and the Foundation's use of site visits for every proposal being considered for funding.  Participants will also learn how to balance the large volume of requests frequently received with the need to conduct a complete and thorough review and analysis at a relatively low cost to the Foundation.

Laura Kind McKenna is the mother of four and a family nurse practitioner who has served as the Managing Trustee of the Patricia Kind Family Foundation since the fall of 1998. The Foundation started by Laura’s mother Patricia Kind provides grants to health and human service organizations in the Philadelphia area. The Foundation has always believed in the importance and value of conducting site visits to evaluate all potential grantees. Laura received her BSN from The American University in Washington DC in 1978. She received her Master’s Degree in Nursing from the University of Pennsylvania in 1981. Laura is a member of the Board of Trustees of La Salle University. She is also a trustee of the van Ameringen Foundation in NYC. Laura volunteers weekly as a nurse practitioner at the House of Grace Catholic Worker Clinic in Kensington.

Delaware Valley Grantmakers thanks the Connelly Foundation for hosting this event.