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Organizational Capacities for Learning and Growth (Figure 5)
Along with their endowments, the most important assets of value-added private foundations are their human resources, and making the most of these resources is central to high performance.
In an era of intensified focus on the performance of corporate boards, increased attention is also being given to the boards of nonprofit organizations. The startling conclusion of one group of experts is that "only the most uncommon of nonprofit boards functions as it should by harnessing the collective efforts of accomplished individuals to advance the institution's mission and long-term welfare." (19) With the 2002 enactment of the Sarbanes-Oxley regulations respecting corporate governance, numerous foundations, including the Fund, have taken steps to ensure that their governance practices are up-to-date, and that Board members are positioned individually and as a group for using their talents and experience to add value to the foundation's work. A confidential annual development survey provides feedback on the Board's own judgment of its effectiveness, and the discussion of its findings creates a productive forum for addressing issues and discussing ways to continually improve the institution's governance.
Figure 5. Selected Commonwealth Fund Scorecard Metrics: Organizational Capacities for Learning and Growth
  
Foundations are enviably positioned for providing staff with the resources needed to do their jobs well, and the Fund's aim is to provide sufficient grant funds to meet program objectives, as well as the information technology and other resources needed for high productivity. The 2005 and 2006 confidential staff surveys conducted by the Center for Effective Philanthropy demonstrated high overall staff satisfaction with resources. However, it also revealed the need for continuing attention to the foundation's information technology services —particularly given the pace of technological improvements and the establishment of a Washington office. (20)The Fund regards providing staff with opportunities for learning and growth as a means of enhancing recruitment, job satisfaction, retention, and the knowledge and skills base of its staff. The Fund's staff tuition assistance program, internal training courses, and on-the-job growth experiences help account for the strong marks staff accord this metric.
Achieving staff job satisfaction is key to retaining highly qualified and productive staff. The 2006 Center for Effective Philanthropy confidential staff survey revealed overall job satisfaction to be reasonably high and equivalent to that at peer foundations. Gratifyingly, efforts to improve job satisfaction over the past year seem to be paying off and will continue.
As stated by management consultant Jim Collins, perhaps the defining characteristic of great nonprofits is hiring the right people, holding on to them, and enabling them to achieve the superior performance of which they are capable. Thus, a central concern of The Commonwealth Fund is retaining key professional staff, so that the institution can continue to excel at its value-added style of grantmaking. Operating in a highly competitive national labor market, from a high cost New York City base, the Fund seeks to contain average three-year annual turnover among professional staff to 12 percent or less. In recent years, the foundation has met that objective.
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