An article published in The Australian, described how listed investment group Future Generation Global measures social impact.
Future Generation Global (FGG) waive their management fees and donate 1 per cent of their assets to youth-focused charities. FGG recently published a report on its Impact Measurement Initiative which evaluates the impact of its philanthropy.
“In these difficult times, we must do everything we can to understand how our mechanisms of support are working and can be improved. In the philanthropic world, we must do more to demonstrate the crucial work of non-profits in rising to meet society’s many challenges,” Gonski told The Australian.
Future Generation Global’s 14 charitable partners benefited 5,355,459 young people – across every state and territory – through their programs and services. FGG provides multi-year, untied funding, coupled with additional capacity building support, which allows charities to allocate funds according to their own needs and priorities.
A Theory of Change – designed around evidence from its 14 partners about ‘what works’ – is used as the framework for measuring impact. Partners “choose their own path” through the Theory of Change and nominate the metrics to measure short, medium and long-term outcomes.
In the first year of impact reporting, FGG says 71% of goals were exceeded or are on track for achievement by 2025.
PROJECT ROCKIT, a youth-driven movement against (cyber)bullying, said the long-term funding model provided an opportunity to re-invest in organisational capacity, strengthen impact measurement, and reimagine its mental health prevention model.
Stephen Carbone, CEO, Prevention United said the FGG model breaks the mould.
“Over the last decade, governments have spent billions treating young people with mental illnesses, yet the numbers keep growing. If we want a different outcome, we need to act differently. It’s time to get ahead of the problem and start focusing on prevention,” he said.
It’s an innovative model. The funder has the rigour of a Theory of Change and performance framework, while charities get the flexibility they need to build capacity and deliver programs.