Video: How a Foundation Chooses Charities to Support

By Eden Stiffman and Nidhi Singh

January 19, 2017 | Read Time: 1 minute

Alexandre Mars

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Deciding which charities to support is much like running a business, says Alexandre Mars, CEO of the Epic Foundation. Everything needs to be analyzed.

Mr. Mars says his group uses 45 criteria to evaluate which youth charities it should fund.

The grant maker, which Mr. Mars founded in 2014, vets youth charities to help individual and corporate donors make informed choices. It begins the vetting process with internet searches and concludes by visiting the nonprofits it thinks have the most potential and talking one-on-one with their leaders.

In this interview from The Chronicle’s PhilNext conference, Mr. Mars chats about what the vetting process entails and how establishing the foundation has changed the way he views the nonprofit world.

About the Authors

Eden Stiffman

Senior Editor

Eden Stiffman is a senior editor and writer who covers nonprofit impact, accountability, and trends across philanthropy. She writes frequently about how technology is transforming the ways nonprofits and donors pursue results, and she profiles leaders shaping the field.

Nidhi Singh

Contributor

Nidhi Singh was a web producer and writer for The Chronicle of Philanthropy from 2015-2017. She was responsible for maintaining the website, updating social media accounts, curating newsletters and monitoring web traffic.