About > Investment Strategies
Investment Strategies
The St. Louis Mental Health Board approaches its responsibilities to levy, manage and distribute public funds as an investor. Its primary concern is for the safety of the principal, but in order to achieve a steady return, it diversifies its portfolio among large, medium and small organizations. It invests in established organizations where gain is expected, as well as those where expectations are less certain.
But, the St. Louis Mental Health Board is not an investor in the usual sense of the word. It is committed to using the funds entrusted to it to improve the lives of residents, especially those whose lives are compromised by mental disorders and drug addiction. It is committed, as well, to helping children grow up safe and have opportunities to succeed.
MHB utilizes a variety of approaches to the distribution of funds. MHB conducts a competitive requests for proposals process. While MHB receives many proposals, the screening is rigorous, resulting in only the most promising proposals considered for funding.
Another approach to the distribution of funds is through funding partnerships with other leadership organizations who have the capacity to match MHB dollars, thereby doubling the funding made available to organizations. Matching Federal funds will also be considered on a limited basis.
Using our third approach, Initiatives, MHB has been successful in building collaborations among organizations with common interests or concerns. This approach has strengthened relationships, reduced barriers to access to services, and improved services by providing more comprehensive services to families and children. MHB provides organizations with seed money to encourage innovation, while, at the same time requiring organizations to work together.
Calls for Co-Investors
Calls for Co-Investors (CFC)-This is a process in which proposals are sought which describe promising approaches to attain the identified Priority Investment Outcomes. This strategic approach to funding prioritizes return on investment, i.e. overall improvement in the conditions of people in St. Louis. In order to maximize benefits for these citizens, decisions on which projects to fund are anchored in judgements about the relative positive return, rather than other considerations. Best practices programs conducted by organizations with good track records offer the highest assurances that outcomes will be achieved. In certain situations, grants will be awarded to encourage innovative programs, if data or evidence exists that a proposed approach has a reasonable likelihood of success.
Funding Partnerships
Funding partnerships are an effective way of increasing the dollar amount available for projects or services. It has the added benefit of concentrating attention on a particular need or condition in the community, which may go less noticed. Frequently, when funders pool resources more comprehensive services are made available, due to differing priority among funders. MHB encourages such partnerships. For purposes of clarity, MHB uses a specific description to determine partners.
For MHB, funding partners are other leadership organizations who, for the most part, don't deliver services, but contract with recipient organizations who do and who have their own funds to invest in a project of mutual interest. Partners do not compete for funds. Rather, the partners determine the parameters of their relationship, as it relates to the jointly funded project, by consensus.
MHB considers partnerships to be of equal value as the competitive CFC process and will appropriate funds sufficient to meet its commitments to the partners. MHB has approved the formation of a Partnership Committee for the purpose of evaluating and approving or disapproving the terms of partnership.
Special Initiatives
MHB has, in the past, found it necessary to invest significant staff resources and seed money in certain community problems in order to bring about change in conditions which impede people getting needed services. Barriers such as lack of cultural competence or other access issues are frequent causes for preventing people from receiving the services. Sometimes the services people need don't exist in St. Louis. MHB creates “initiatives" when solving such problems require MHB leadership, collaboration and funding from more than one source. MHB will continue to devote staff resources to identify, coordinate and seek solutions to such problems, as well as make seed money available to promote and encourage innovation.
Matching Federal Dollars
MHB has avoided using local tax dollars as a match for federal funds, since most federal grants require increasing amounts of match each year. More importantly, there is the expectation that MHB will continue to fully fund the federal grant program after the 3 or 5 year federal commitment ends. Without tight controls on the use of matching funds, this arrangement, over time, has the potential of locking in local funds. Such a practice advances federal priorities with local revenue at the expense of local and immediate priorities.
There are, however, occasions where matching federal dollars is a wise investment, especially if the use of this method will result in the establishment of a new needed service, which otherwise would not be established.