Support for Annual Grant Evaluations

The Orange County Community Foundation (OCCF) focuses on providing opportunities and supporting philanthropic causes that aim to achieve lasting impacts. OCCF provides professional stewardship and oversight to ensure that each of its charitable funds reflect the donor’s vision and intentions. The Henry W. & Ellen R. Warne Family Endowment Fund (the Warne Fund) at OCCF focuses on protecting and promoting endangered species. OCCF initially collaborated with ERG to develop a Strategic Funding Plan and monitoring, evaluation, and learning (MEL) Work Plan and Scorecard, and to collect baseline data related to the Warne Fund goals. After grant-making from the Warne Fund began in 2017, OCCF turned to ERG to support annual grant evaluations.

Since 2017, ERG has conducted annual Warne Fund grant evaluations for OCCF. For each evaluation, ERG reviews and assesses the annual grantee portfolio, including performance and progress toward achieving Warne Fund goals using the MEL scorecard, and develops recommendations for OCCF to refine the Warne Fund goals and outcomes and enhance the Fund’s grant-making impact. At the end of 2025, OCCF and ERG will discuss ideas for communicating highlights of the first 10 years of the Warne Fund (which will conclude at the end of 2026).