Each year, the Scripps Family Impact Fund (SFIF) focuses its giving on one high-impact issue area—an approach that allows for deeper engagement, meaningful evaluation, and collective family participation. But how is that annual focus chosen? And how are grant recipients identified?

The answers reveal a grantmaking model that is both highly intentional and deeply personal, guided by research, family values, and a desire to make a measurable difference.

A Collaborative Approach to Choosing a Focus Area

Unlike traditional foundations with formalized processes or standing committees, SFIF takes a more collaborative and conversational approach to setting its annual funding priority. The Miramar Charitable Foundation team helps guide the process by surfacing potential focus areas that are broad enough to resonate across the extended family while remaining responsive to national needs.

Board members then share and socialize their own interests and perspectives in the lead-up to the organization’s fall meeting. By design, the decision is made by consensus—reflecting shared values rather than a top-down directive.

Guiding the Decision with Data and Heart

While passion drives the process, it is grounded in research. Voting board members are provided with background materials, including national trend data, philanthropic field reports, and relevant case studies. This ensures that conversations are not only reflective of what matters most to the family but also rooted in focus areas where philanthropic dollars can do the most good.

The goal is to strike a balance between the head and the heart—honoring individual convictions while also pointing giving toward areas with potential for real, scalable impact.

How Organizations Are Invited to Apply

One of the most distinctive elements of the SFIF model is its invitation-only application process. After the annual funding category is chosen, board members independently research organizations they believe are well-suited to the mission. They then nominate those groups for consideration.

This nomination process is more than a formality. It ensures that every invited applicant has already been vetted and reflects a genuine belief that the organization would be a worthy recipient of support. Only those nominated are invited to apply—eliminating the need for open calls or unsolicited applications.

What Makes an Organization Stand Out

When it comes to evaluating nominated organizations, the process is intentionally flexible. There is no single rubric or required checklist. Instead, board members are encouraged to consider whatever factors they find most compelling. Often these include:

• Mission alignment with the year’s focus area
• Financial health and organizational viability
• Strength of leadership and reputation within the field
• Capacity for long-term impact

Ultimately, the guiding principle is simple: the nominator must believe the organization would be a powerful and inspiring choice for the family.

A Year in the Life of SFIF Grantmaking

The annual cycle begins each fall, when board members gather after Labor Day to elect officers and decide on the next year’s funding category. Over the following months, they research and nominate organizations to be considered for funding, and by the end of the year, nominations are finalized.

As part of SFIF’s due diligence, all finalists undergo Impact Genome verification—a rigorous, peer-reviewed process that certifies the annual outcomes of social programs across a variety of sectors. This verification helps ensure that grant dollars are directed toward organizations that can deliver on their promises—and that the family’s giving is making a meaningful, measurable difference in the world.

Invited organizations submit applications in early spring, which are reviewed and scored by board members. In April or May, finalists are selected. Each finalist is then invited to create a short video that introduces their work and vision—content that is shared with the extended Scripps family in June. These videos are designed to inspire and inform, allowing family members of all ages to engage with the finalists before pledging support. 

Final pledges are collected in the summer, and grants are awarded soon after.

A Model Rooted in Values

At every stage, SFIF’s grantmaking process reflects the values that define the fund itself: curiosity, empathy, accountability, and a belief in the power of collective action. By combining data-informed decision-making with personal passion and family connection, the fund continues to identify and support organizations that are changing lives—and doing so in a way that brings the family closer together in shared purpose.