Maintaining Flexibility as a Foundation

"“When 900 years old you reach… Look as good, you will not.” - Yoda, Return of the Jedi

The FCIDD may not be 900 years old, but it did just pass 75 years last year, and the tendency might be to assume that a foundation at that age gets "set in its ways" and isn't in a place to address current needs related to I/DD.

That's why maintaining flexibility is so important to our culture.

The members of the Grants Committee take their charge very seriously. Throughout the three funding rounds each year, they're tasked with reviewing grant proposals and determining not only the merits of the proposals, but also whether each proposal lines up with the historic mission of the foundation. Periodically, a particular application is found to be outside of that history in scope or method. And I've watched the committee members sit with that and wrestle with the various ways to approach and evaluate an application. It's remarkable.

Remarkable because, despite the age of the institution, the members of our board and committees continue to do the hard work to maintain flexibility in the interest of extrapolating the intent of the founding members of this foundation into the realities of contemporary research and social structures, as well as political realities. There's not a "Denied, because we've never done it this way before", rather a "That's engaging. How do we make this work?" And it's that kind of flexibility, real stretching with purpose, that makes the FCIDD the type of organization that others trust with their giving, or with their appeals for support.

And you're invited to contribute to our continued efforts to reach people in communities throughout the 15 states we work in. We recognize that we can't do it alone; it's a communal effort, so we ask you to join us in "Making Possibilities Happen"!