Going from Strategy
to Impact
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Introduction
At Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Global Citizenship is a cornerstone of
the business- strengthening resilience and driving positive social impact in an
age of continuous global change. Starwood enlists its global network of hotels,
its world-renowned brands, and dedicated associates in implementing its Global
Citizenship initiatives to ensure its environmental and social standards are
consistently upheld.
A critical component of Starwood’s Global Citizenship objectives are five Social
Responsibility focus areas that drive positive impact in communities around the
world: Workplace Readiness, Human Rights, Conservation, Disaster Relief and
Community Vitality. The mission of the Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide
Foundation, Inc. (Starwood Foundation) is to act as a catalyst for global societal
growth & development, ensuring associates, residents, visitors and local businesses
can experience vibrant and thriving communities. By developing strategic
partnerships that leverage its resources and expertise to address critical local
needs, the Foundation empowers communities to build and sustain the economic,
social and community vitality of regions where Starwood Hotels operate now
and in the future.
Versaic Grants is the engine that helps Starwood Hotels and the Starwood
Foundation (“Starwood”) track, quantify and evaluate their social impact. Starwood
needed a system to make the complex simple. Versaic launched a solution for
Starwood that not only met, but exceeded, all of its requirements. Here’s how
Starwood and Versaic went from concept to implementation, to impact.
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“
At Starwood, we have
big goals in terms of
moving the needle on
social change. We set out
to do things differently
and needed a partner
who could team with
us to create a system
that would help us build
impact and accomplish
our goals. We found that
partner in Versaic.
Kristin Meyer
Associate Director, Community Partnerships,
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide, Inc.
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CHAPTER ONE
Establishing Mission
and Focus
Since 2009, Global Citizenship has
been a cornerstone of Starwood’s
business strategy. Starwood’s Social
Responsibility team and the Starwood
Foundation is a core building block of
that strategy, chartered with building
relationships with critical community
stakeholders to mitigate risks and
maximize benefits in the communities
where Starwood does business.
Starwood’s ambitions are big. The
four-person Social Responsibility team
has much to accomplish.
To establish focus areas that would
address the most pertinent needs
of the community while capitalizing
on Starwood’s strengths, the Social
Responsibility team turned internally
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to their own associates to offer
guidance. After multiple stakeholder
interviews, focus groups and strategy
sessions evaluating different aspects
of the business, the team could
identify the alignment between
community development objectives
and Starwood’s strategic goals. The
exercise resulted in five areas of focus
which drive Starwood’s philanthropic,
volunteer and community engagement
activities.
“
We work tirelessly
to integrate Global
Citizenship into the fabric
of our organization...
as we continue our
journey for a better,
more sustainable world.
Ken Siegel
Chief Administrative Officer & General Counsel,
Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide Chairman
of the Board, Starwood Hotels & Resorts
Worldwide Foundation, Inc. 3/12
Starwood’s Social Responsibility
Focus Areas
Starwood’s ability to influence lasting, sustainable improvements in communities around the globe is
accomplished through collaborative partnerships with international charitable organizations. Starwood
is dedicated to enriching communities by supplying financial grants and collaborative partnerships to
select organizations driving change in the following focus areas:
WORKPLACE
READINESS
COMMUNITY
VITALITY
CONSERVATION
DISASTER
RELIEF
HUMAN
RIGHTS
Prepare underserved
individuals for obtaining employment within their community
to promote economic
growth of local
communities.
Preserve and support
the unique aspects
of a community to
support local growth
and sustain as a tourist
destination.
Conserve and protect
natural resources by
sourcing goods and
services responsibly
and actively engaging
Starwood associates in
environmental sustainability efforts locally.
Respond to the
individual, employee,
and community needs
arising from emergency
situations.
Support awareness
and advocacy for
human rights issues
around the world.
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CHAPTER TWO
Formulating the Plan
Starting with their signature program,
Workplace Readiness, the team at
Starwood needed to build a plan so
they could start their fiscal year ready
to go. Many questions were raised and
potential challenges identified:
• How do we identify potential
partners that align with our focus
areas?
• How do we educate potential
grant partners?
• How can we establish a rigorous yet
streamlined selection process?
• How do we build for impact from the
beginning?
• How do we strengthen relationships
with grantees and support mutual
goals?
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• How do we manage the volume of
requests?
• How can we do the comprehensive
tracking and reporting that’s
required?
• How can we get started right away
and phase other elements of the
system in over the course of the first
year?
At the time, Starwood’s ambitious
goals were not matched by an
infrastructure or approach to help
act on those intentions to the fullest
extent. Its grantmaking needed more
focus and clarity to take it to the next
level. The team knew they wanted to
make a bigger impact and needed to
take a more deliberate approach.
The only way this group could tackle
the project was by making the team
and the process as streamlined and
efficient as possible. They knew they
needed to automate the process but
wanted a system that was flexible
and worked the way they worked.
They needed a partner to consult with
them and bring fresh ideas and best
practices. They needed to keep an
eye on their budget.
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CHAPTER TWO
Formulating the Plan
Starwood engaged with Results
Consultants at The Rensselaerville
Institute (TRI) to bring its strategy
to life. TRI helped Starwood make a
mindset shift from acting as a ‘funder’
to acting as an ‘investor’ looking
for the highest human gain for the
available dollars. With that perspective,
the foundation staff created a strategic
result framework to clarify results for
their signature program grants. By
starting with results, they could shape
their approach for identifying partners,
educating those partners, aligning
application questions, linking the
selection process, grantee reporting,
and performance assessments to
their result framework. Starwood was
able to bring a results focus to its
giving by defining, tracking, assessing
and improving results for their
grantmaking.
“
The Starwood team
understands that their
grantee’s results ARE the
Foundation’s results. It’s
that mindset that drives
how Starwood partners
with their grantees to
achieve those results
together. Together they use
results data to learn what
works and doesn’t work
and aim support towards
course corrections that will
improve results over time.
Wendy Watson-Hallowell
Executive Director, Results Consulting,
The Rensselaerville Institute
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CHAPTER TWO
Impact Framework
WORKPLACE READINESS STRATEGIC RESULT FRAMEWORK
Strategy
Address the skills
and access gaps faced
by underserved* or
unemployed residents
in current and
future Starwood
Communities
Funding Priorities
Desired Results
Program Types
Fostering
Employment
Unemployed local
residents obtain and
retain local living
wage jobs
Hard Skill Training
Soft Skill Training
Social Skills Training
Impact
A skilled and
diverse local
workforce that
drives business
growth and
economic success
Advanced Skill Training
Career
Development
Local workers advance
into higher career
opportunities
Global Mindedness
HOW WE
CONTRIBUTE
• Direct Service Grants
• Capacity Building Grants
• System Reform Grants
• Associate Engagement
• Associate Advocates
• Collaborative
Partnerships
Leadership and
Management Training
Employer
Readiness
Local employers
change their practices
and policies to employ,
retrain and advance
local residents
Employer Engagement
Job Matching
Workforce Skill
Development & Training
* Underserved socially, geographically or economically
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CHAPTER TWO
COMMUNITY
VITALITY
CONSERVATION
IMPACT
FUNDING TYPE
GRANT TYPE
FOCUS
The Starwood Approach to Impact
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Capacity
Building
Funding
Funding
Career
Development
WORKPLACE
READINESS
Programmatic
Fostering
Employment
DISASTER
RELIEF
HUMAN
RIGHTS
Systems
Change
Employee
Readiness
Funding
Increase number of youth and
adults who obtain and retain living
wage jobs, report increase in
quality of life, and express interest
in career advancement
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CHAPTER THREE
Implementing the System
With Versaic on board with Starwood,
it was time to get started. Clients
say that getting started with Versaic
couldn’t be easier and it was no exception with Starwood. Starwood was
an enthusiastic partner in the entire
process. The team provided direction
on their unique vision and perspective
about how their grantmaking should
work. The team at Starwood views
the grants management system as a
vehicle for bringing their vision to life
as well as an opportunity to accurately
track results by working collaboratively
with their community partners.
The Versaic Client Success team
brought deep experience to the table
along with best practices that helped
the Starwood and TRI teams fill in
the fine detail on their plans. In many
cases, the Versaic team raised issues
they hadn’t thought of or wouldn’t
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have been in a position to anticipate,
helping to save time and streamline
the implementation process. Together
the teams crafted the right questions
to ensure that all the necessary
information would be collected from
charitable partnerships, from initial
proposal through impact data collected
post-grant.
The Starwood grantmaking process
is multi-faceted. For example, in
workplace readiness there are a variety
of potential funding paths that can be
taken, all with different outcomes and
impact. There are custom questions
for each area with corresponding
initial, interim and final data/reports
for each. The flexibility of the Versaic
solution made it possible to do exactly
what Starwood needed and make
its complex process streamlined and
manageable.
As with any implementation process,
it’s difficult to anticipate everything
that might happen and the Versaic
team was ready for last-minute
changes and requests. Starwood
was no exception. One curveball
came relatively early in the process
when the Starwood team decided to
track the entire Foundation budget
using the Versaic system and include
components that go well beyond
grantmaking. They also wanted to
ensure their internal finance teams
would not be burdened by the system
but rather see it as an advantage for
taking care of administrative tasks such
as check writing and grant fulfillment.
Together the teams mapped out a
solution that would work for everyone
at Starwood and Versaic delivered
a system with the capabilities they
needed, on time and on budget.
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CHAPTER THREE
Starwood System Overview
Every step of the grants management process is supported by the Versaic system
EVALUATE INVESTMENT GOALS
Discuss grant renewal and
investment priorities
PROSPECTIVE PARTNERS
Train prospective NGO’s on results
framework & milestone tracking
Scorecards
& Portfolio
Reporting
MEASURE OVERALL IMPACT
Confirm/discuss results and
impact to date
VERSAIC
TOOLS
Results
Tracking
CAPTURE IMPACT DETAILS
Guide NGO’s in completing
mid and final grant reporting
to track progress
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Online Grant
Application
COLLECT FORMAL PROPOSALS
Guide NGO’s through application,
results projections and outline
deliverables
Approval
Tracking
& Budget
Module
INTERNAL REVIEW & SELECTION
Approve request, track approval
documentation and activate
approval workflow
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CHAPTER FOUR
System Launch & Results
In a matter of weeks, the Starwood
system was launched. Working side by
side with Starwood, Versaic adjusted
the system to work around last-minute
requirements. Versaic continues
to tweak the system to adapt to
Starwood’s changing needs, something
that the Starwood team values.
No doubt Versaic will continue to add
and adjust as the Starwood grants
program grows and changes. In the
meantime, they are fully operational
and on their way to reaching their
ambitious goals.
After the initial launch, Versaic
continued to phase in additional
elements to the system. For example,
the system now includes results cards
that give the Starwood team an
assessment of how each grantee is
doing during the grant period. These
progress reports help ensure that
grantees have the ability to share
their results and learnings and give
Starwood an opportunity to engage
with grantees who might need
additional support or guidance in order
to accomplish their goals.
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For additional information, please visit
The Starwood Foundation, Versaic and
The Rensselaerville Institute.
Special thanks to the team at the Starwood Hotels & Resorts Worldwide
Foundation for sharing their story and supporting the development of this eBook.
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