The Beazley Foundation

The Beazley Foundation was founded by Fred Beazley, who wanted to give back to the community that gave so much to him while he was growing up. Based in Portsmouth, Virginia, it is a private foundation that focuses on disadvantaged children and youth, education, and human services. The Foundation Center asked Judge Richard S. Bray, president and CEO:

Given founder Fred Beazley and his family's desire to help address the needs of economically disadvantaged children and youth in his community, what have been the foundation's most successful outcomes in realizing that vision over the years? Also, your web site expresses that "the staff and Board of Trustees of the Beazley Foundation is often frustrated by the lack of funds to support all worthy programs seeking grants." What would you like your colleagues in the field to know about particular strategies that the Beazley Foundation has found helpful in choosing among so many worthy programs?

"From our perspective, successful outcomes in terms of human need generally must be measured on a continuum. In executing our mission, the Beazely Foundation funds an array of nonprofits, public and private education programs, and scholarships that provide sustained services. In that context, success or failure is a relative term and it is viewed both historically and prospectively for effective crisis relief, remediation, and long-term results.

"Our partnership with nonprofit organizations is generally relational. Those that are addressing their mission in effective, competent ways receive our regular support. We always, however, evaluate both the historical performance as well as the prospects for the future.

"In terms of choosing among so many worthy programs, as a private foundation our responsibilities are two-fold to achieve and sustain success: first, the management and preservation of the corpus, because in the final analysis that is where the power of the foundation lies. We cannot solicit or receive funds; we must manage the funds that have been entrusted to us by Mr. Beazley and ensure that they are responsibly handled. The second responsibility, of course, is the execution of our mission.

"In that respect, the frustration comes when we are confronted with a prolonged recession that has diminished our capacity because our investment portfolio has been so negatively impacted at a time when the needs are most compelling. Despite these challenges, however, we have sought to minimize reduction in our funding to nonprofits. We focused on cost containment and sound strategies — maintain relationships with existing nonprofits that have developed and established sound, worthy programs that we have funded over the years; and work with nonprofits to contain the grant award, as we all had to compromise during these times, reducing operational costs and services. These challenging times are clearly a disadvantage to emerging nonprofits, but we have been meeting with emerging nonprofits, learning about their work, and funding some with small grants. As the economy improves, we will be in a position to do more as our capacity is restored."