Packard Foundation Food & Shelter Program

Client: David and Lucile Packard Foundation

Project:  Food and Shelter Program

Service Area: Grantmaking Support

Content Area: Affordable Housing, Homelessness, Safety Net

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Since 2007, the David and Lucile Packard Foundation has engaged csb philanthropic solutions to provide grantmaking support for the foundation’s Local Grantmaking Program, particularly its Food and Shelter portfolio.

For the first seven years, Cassandra served as a consulting Program Officer, staffing the foundation’s Food and Shelter portfolio of local grants and program-related investments. She conducted due diligence and site visits throughout the five-county funding area, as well as wrote recommendations for grants ranging from $50,000 to $1 million. She also analyzed the overall portfolio of grants and PRIs, recommended strategies to increase the foundation’s impact, and provided in-depth assessment and capacity building assistance to the portfolio’s largest grantees.

As part of this support, she provides best practices for research and environmental scans to inform the foundation’s grantmaking. She has prepared multiple reports to help the foundation identify and prioritize new opportunities, including recommendations to increase access of lower-income populations to healthier foods, build the organizational capacity of food banks, and increase family economic stability in this high-cost region.