What is Public Interest Projects (PIP)?
Public Interest Projects, Inc. (PIP) is a 501(c)(3) public charity that makes grants to nonprofits through its collaborative funds, fiscal sponsorships and special projects on behalf of foundations and donors committed to issues related to social justice and human rights.
What does PIP do?
Through its collaborative funds PIP brings together donors with like-minded philanthropic goals and pools their resources, thereby maximizing the impact of their funding. PIP also provides strategic direction, day-to-day management, administrative support and financial oversight to a range of specialized groups and grantees working in the area of social justice. Finally, we offer fiscal sponsorship services to philanthropic affinity groups that do not have 501(c)(3) tax-exempt status so that they too can broaden their funding options and advance their causes.
What kinds of issues does PIP support?
PIP focuses on a variety of social justice issues, including reform of immigration policy and integration of immigrants into American society, educational equity and improving student outcomes in low-income communities, human rights in the U.S., racial justice, and racial and gender equity, among other issues.
How many funds does PIP manage?
PIP’s staff manages six collaborative and partner funds, four special projects and fiscal sponsorships. Altogether, PIP made more than $15.8 million in grants in 2009.
How does PIP evaluate the performance of its collaborative funds?
Using the expertise of specialized fund-evaluation consultants, PIP closely monitors the performance of our funds. At the outset, we establish concrete benchmarks for fund performance. We insure that these goals are met and that our donors’ investments are yielding the results they want through an array of quantitative and qualitative tools.
Who would benefit from working with PIP?
Grantmaking foundations, community funds and nonprofit organizations stand to benefit from working with PIP. We specialize in large collaborative funds that offer donors an opportunity to pool their resources. But because we understand and represent the interests of both sides of the philanthropic equation, we also service grantees, often acting as an intermediary to help them develop strategies that significantly advance their causes.
