EHF significantly expanded the variety and geographic reach of its investments in 2016, including overseeing nearly $30 million total in community investments. That’s just one of the findings of EHF’s 2016 Impact Evaluation Report that measured the impact and effectiveness of the foundation’s wide range of investments across 57 Texas counties.
The report found that EHF interacted with more than 750 organizations in 2016 through its investments in grants, research, community convening, training, and work with Episcopal congregations.
“From the beginning, we’ve been dedicated to being transparent and measuring the true impact of our work to create healthier communities in Texas,” said Elena Marks, EHF’s president and CEO. “We publish our evaluation reports because we want to be accountable as a health philanthropy. This report shows we’re making progress in delivering on our mission, but there’s more work to be done.”
EHF’s evaluation team developed the framework for the foundation’s strategic learning and evaluation system in 2015. EHF’s yearly evaluation reports examine how well EHF’s resources have been deployed, assess the outcomes of its investments and community impact, and evaluate the impact on our mission moving forward.
“We’re growing and learning as a philanthropy because we do this important evaluation work,” said Lexi Nolen, EHF’s VP for impact. “It’s helping us make better decisions in the future as we move to more deeply invest in the transformation of communities.”
EHF’s 2016 Impact Evaluation Report shows the foundation’s investments included work with:
- 174 organizations participating in community convening projects
- 138 Episcopal churches
- 126 grant partners
- 61 organizations taking part in community engagement training sessions
- 35 organizations participating in community research projects
Compared to 2015, the EHF’s report found the foundation considerably increased the geographic reach of its investments throughout its 57-county service area.
“Beyond the grants and research investments made to benefit the region as a whole, EHF made more targeted investments, reaching 50 of the 57 counties,” said Suzanne Leahy, EHF’s director of evaluation. “Approximately one in five EHF investments benefitted the East Texas area. That’s one of the exciting outcomes of our work in 2016.”
