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- Strategy and Guidelines
Early Childhood Development Strategy and Guidelines
Theory of Change | Background | Strategy/Goals/Funding Areas | General Guidelines | Application Procedure
Bella Vista Foundation Theory of Change
for Early Childhood Grantmaking:
Bella Vista Foundation's Theory of Change
The board and staff of the Bella Vista Foundation are committed to being more specific about what we hope will happen over time as a result of the foundation’s grantmaking and community involvement. We are trying to capture this in a diagram of our theory of change, and to some extent, identify the measurable outcomes that will indicate whether or not the foundation is achieving its goals.
To see Bella Vista Foundation’s theory of change, click here.
Organizations' Theory of Change
In the past the foundation asked for a “hypothesis” as part of the grant application, but we believe that identifying a theory of change takes that kind of planning to the next level. When you are applying, please reference your theory of change. You may have a theory of change for the organization as a whole, but the foundation is most interested in the stated goals of your program(s) for parents and caregivers of young children and the measurable improvement that you hope to see in these clients in terms of their being able to cope with stress, and/or improve their parenting, and/or exhibit fewer signs of anxiety, stress, and in some cases, depression.
The foundation will favor agencies that collect data in ways that allow your staff to know whether or not a program is meeting its goals. The foundation believes in the importance of continuous improvement, which can only happen when staff knows what aspects of a program are working and what aspects are not effective.
This effort is a work in progress, and your comments and suggestions are welcome (send an email to Mary (mgregory@pfs-llc.net) or Hector (hmelendez@pfs-llc.net).
Strong attachment between caregiver and child increases the likelihood of a child’s healthy social and emotional development regardless of the temperament with which the child is born. Attachment and continued nurturing can often be impeded if the parent or caregiver has difficulty coping with stress. Parenting is demanding, but it is particularly challenging for families whose lives are already full of stress. There has been relatively little attention given to parents’ and caregivers’ ability to cope with the challenges they face (versus trying to reduce the stress for them). Bella Vista Foundation (BVF) has chosen to focus on increasing parents’ and caregivers’ ability to cope with stress as early as possible in the child’s life.
Both the National Center for Children in Poverty (NCCP) and Zero to Three (Z-3) have asserted that the most significant barriers to quality parenting are physical abuse, substance abuse, maternal depression, and the parents' own experience of being poorly parented. However, we are learning from service providers that parental difficulties in coping with stress also grow out of anxiety, anger, isolation, and grief—all of which may be exhibited by mothers, fathers, or other caregivers. It is probable that there is a lot of overlap of these conditions, but for Bella Vista Foundation, the central linkage is parents’ or caregivers’ difficulty in coping with stress.
Both NCCP and Z-3 cite the Department of Health and Human Services study of Early Head Start (EHS) in which—compared to a prevalence of 8-12% among all mothers—48% of EHS parents (mostly mothers and 1/3 still pregnant) exhibit substantial signs of depression. Since EHS nationally serves 3% of eligible low-income children at least that many mother and child dyads are getting some help. However, the other 97% of low-income families are unlikely to be getting systematic help. BVF will focus its efforts on helping low and moderate income parents improve their ability to cope with stress.
Significant public resources are directed (and more could be directed) at increasing parents’ and caregivers’ ability to cope with stress through mental health, substance abuse, anger management, homeless and other service programs. In a growing number of places there are explicit programs, standing alone or addressing co-occurring issues. The scale of the need is so great that it can only be met by significant publicly-funded programs maintained over at least two generations. In the four West Bay counties where BVF works, we will encourage the counties, other foundations and service providers to systematically assess and help parents, caregivers and children with their emotional challenges.
Publicly-funded programs do provide, and most likely need to increase, services to low-income parents and their children with diagnosed mental health disorders. Whether such programs can be extended to parents and children who are likely to have a need before it is diagnosed and to moderate income families who need some level of help is not clear. BVF grants will go to service providers who are willing to push the boundaries of public funding and reimbursement to encompass as many parents as possible who have a need for less intensive services than individual therapy and medication. BVF hopes to complement public funding by reaching as many mothers (and fathers and caregivers) as possible, as early as possible, who might benefit from learning techniques to successfully cope with stress both currently and in the future. Techniques we have supported include mindfulness training during pregnancy; home visiting; substance abuse parenting programs; nurturing parenting programs; infant massage; exercise; and parent support groups, especially for parents who are isolated because of geography or language. There are many other methods of coping with stress—we hope agencies will come forward with some innovative and potentially effective ideas.
Strategy, Goals, and Funding Areas:
To achieve our vision we are employing a two-pronged strategy that (1) supports and promotes collaboration among county groups of public and private agencies that seek to develop and implement county-wide strategies and objectives, and (2) provides grants to community based organizations in each county. This two-pronged approach has an overall long-term societal objective of reducing the number of children coming to kindergarten not emotionally ready to be there from approximately 25% overall today to less than 10% in all ethnic and income groups within a generation.
Our two-pronged approach addresses both county-wide and program-specific funding goals:
- County-Wide Strategy: Public
and private agencies, foundations and corporations will collaborate
to build a comprehensive network of services for parents and their young
children in which data collection and measurable objectives lead to
the creation and system-wide delivery of the highest quality services
to a series of targeted populations in each county.
a) Goal:
Specific strategic goals will be posted after they are developed in each county. Please continue to visit the website for updates.
b) Funding Strategy:
The Foundation wants to better understand what and where the needs are around alleviating parental depression (and other similar maladies) and increasing parents’ abilities to cope with stress and positively promote their child’s emotional health in each of the four counties in which we fund: Marin, San Francisco, San Mateo and Santa Clara. We have begun by supporting planning efforts in Marin and San Francisco. BVF wants to continue to be involved by participating in different meetings and convenings that seek to create county-wide and cross-systems collaborations in each of the four counties, and the foundation is willing to fund such convenings. BVF is willing to help inform public and private decision makers of the importance of funding programs offering relevant and effective services. - Service Provider
Strategy: Programs will provide services that prevent or
alleviate emotional difficulties for parents and caregivers and support
the healthy social/emotional development of their children by increasing
parents’/caregivers’ ability to cope with stress, depression
and/or other similar maladies.
a) Goal:
Serve distinct sub-groups within the county target population with demonstrably or theoretically effective programs, services, or therapy, and help parents, caregivers, and their children to be successful as measured by county-wide agreed upon tools/methods when available.
- b) Funding Strategy:
- i) BVF is interested in reaching as many mothers (and fathers and caregivers) as possible who have less severe challenges (and therefore do not qualify for public services) and who might benefit from strategies such as mindfulness training (a BVF-funded pilot program for pregnant women with a history of depression has shown great promise); home visiting; nurturing parenting programs; infant massage; exercise; and mom/parent support groups, especially for parents who are isolated because of geography or language. These strategies can be part of programs aimed at other co-occurring conditions. There are many other methods of coping with stress—we hope agencies will come to us with some innovative and potentially effective ideas. We hope to reach parents during pregnancy or when they have children 0 to 3 years old, because the earlier in a child’s life that a mother, in particular, is able to cope with the stress in her life, the stronger the attachment between mother and child and the healthier the child’s social/emotional development is likely to be. BVF prefers to fund activities that government agencies do not normally fund.
- To see a list of indicators for quality programs, click here.
- IMPORTANT: Bella Vista Foundation will NOT fund Raising A Reader for individual programs or child care centers. Childcare programs and pre-schools that are interested in Raising A Reader and would like more information (including the cost of the program) should contact the Raising A Reader coordinator in their county. For contact information, click here.
ii) In addition to the initiatives addressing parental stress, Bella Vista Foundation will continue to fund the Raising A Reader program for infants and toddlers (www.raisingareader.org), a book lending program that encourages attachment by having parents and caregivers lap-read with young children, thereby both nurturing the children and introducing them to the fun of reading. It is significant that this program goes beyond getting books into the home. It encourages parents to lap read via a video for parents, coaches providers who will be administering the program, and sparks enthusiasm in parents and children through the weekly exchange of books.
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The Foundation supports public charities located in San Francisco, Marin, San Mateo, and Santa Clara counties.
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Grants will not be made to or for the arts, sectarian religious purposes, individuals, or benefit events, and will only be made for medical research, health care, publications, or video production under special circumstances.
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The foundation does not make multi-year grants but is prepared to stay with an organization for a length of time--as long as the organization improves and adapts the program relating to its hypothesis about promoting healthy social/emotional development in children prenatal-3, and as long as we perceive it to be among the best strategies for achieving the foundation’s goals.
Application
Procedure:
(updated 11/16/2012)
The foundation meets twice a year, April and October. Proposals for the April 2013 meeting must be received in the office no later than 5 P.M. on January 17th, 2013. Proposals for the October 2013 meeting must be received in the office no later than 5 P.M. on July 15th, 2013.
If you are reapplying for a subsequent grant please click here.
Application Procedure for First-time Applicants:
The board and staff of Bella Vista Foundation are committed to learning as much as possible through the process of grantmaking. We have tried to design our application and progress report so that they can teach us a lot without being too much of a burden for you. The application is structured so that once the proposal has been written you will have the framework needed to complete a progress report. As partners in this process, we hope you will feel free to ask for help or clarification when needed, and we welcome your comments. To see the Early Childhood Development Progress Report Form, click here. Please see below for the appropriate contact depending on the county your agency serves.
If your agency serves Marin or Santa Clara County, please address your questions, cover letter, and/or proposal to:
Mary L. Gregory, Executive Director
Bella Vista Foundation
1660 Bush Street, Suite 300
San Francisco, CA 94109
mgregory@pfs-llc.net
Questions? Call Mary at (415) 561-6540 x 204
If your agency serves San Francisco or San Mateo County, please address your questions, cover letter, and/or proposal to:
Hector Melendez, Senior Program Officer
Bella Vista Foundation
1660 Bush Street, Suite 300
San Francisco, CA 94109
hmelendez@pfs-llc.net
Questions? Call Hector at (415) 561-6540 x 206
Submit by email (if possible):
A cover letter on your organization’s letterhead that briefly summarizes the request for funding, includes the dollar amount you are requesting, tells us why you think your program is a good fit for the Bella Vista Foundation’s priorities, and lists the other pieces of the proposal that you will submit by email.
Submit by email (as much as possible):
Please send us a proposal with the following information in a reasonable font size, which when printed out is no longer than 5 pages. Also, remember to put a header on each page which identifies your organization.
- Concise description of your organization including history, mission, geography and populations served, and types of programs/services provided.
- Long-term outcomes: A clear statement of the desired long-term outcomes of the program(s) you are proposing to improve coping skills for parents of children prenatal to three years old. (For example, “By providing mindfulness training to low-income prospective parents, we will increase healthy attachment between these young parents and their newborn babies.”).
- Program Description: Please answer the following
questions:
- How many clients will you serve, and what ages are they?)
- What type of activities will be taking place? (Classes? Support groups? Home Visits? etc.)
- How often and for how long?
- At what location?
(Please be specific about methods, tools, and materials your program uses.)
- Measurable short-term outcomes: What kind of change/impact and how much change/impact do you hope to have on the clients served by the services you provide, and what data will you be collecting to track these changes (and with what assessment tools)? Measurable short-term outcomes should be specific so that they help you to see your progress toward your long-term outcome(s). For example, an outcome would not simply state “80% of mothers enrolled in the support group will attend 5 or more sessions,” but instead might read “80% of mothers enrolled in the support group will attend 5 or more sessions and will show a positive change of at least 10% in their scores on both the Desired Results and Parent Health Questionnaire (PHQ-9) assessments.” It is our hope that by establishing these specific targets, programs will be able to take a hard look at what they want to have happen as the result of an activity, whether it is achieved, and why or why not. It is the foundation’s hope that this kind of evaluation by you of your programs can lead to continuous improvement. We hope to learn along with you from this process.
To access a glossary of terms (i.e., Hypothesis, Objectives, Outcomes, etc.), click here.
Please submit with your proposal the following attachments: (These documents are not part of the 5-page proposal limit.)
- Agency revenue and expenses statement for the agency’s most recently completed fiscal year (required)
- Organizational budget for the present year, detailing proposed expenditures and projected sources of funding (required)
- Project budget detailing all proposed expenditures, and projected and committed sources of funding (if applicable)
- A list of other foundations that have funded the project or which are being approached for funding, and identify committed and pending funders. (required)
- List of board members and their affiliations (required)
- Copy of the agency’s IRS 501(C) 3 tax-exempt determination letter (required)
For environmental and economic reasons, please do not use binders, folders or other binding for proposals, audits or supporting attachments, and please do not send audio-visual materials unless requested. Thank you.