A new year brings new hopes and possibilities for what can and will be accomplished over the coming months. Does the same hold true with your philanthropy?
Are you approaching your giving with a bounce in your step for uncovering the nonprofits that are doing good work but may struggle with recognition or may struggle with pulling in consistent dollars so their leaders can sleep at night and concentrate on the work to be had?
Are you looking for a collaborative relationship with nonprofits? One in which there is more listening and learning on both sides?
If you answered yes to any of these questions here is a resource for you. Take a look at the Trust-Based Philanthropy Project. This work was launched two years ago as a peer-to-peer funder initiative by funders from across the country to address power imbalances between funders and nonprofits.
This project reimagines traditional funder-grantee relationships and envisions “a world where relationships are built on vulnerability, transparency, and humility; where community and nonprofit leaders are valued, supported, and trusted; and where funders bring an awareness of power and equity to their grantmaking.”
Core to this work are six key principles:
Give multi-year unrestricted funding, which is critical in creating healthy, flexible, and effective nonprofits.
Do the homework. It is the funders responsibility to learn and understand their grantees and not the other way around. It’s also important to look beyond your usual organizations to discover other agencies aligned with your vision and values.
Simplify and streamline paperwork. Limit your questions to those that will get to the heart of your decision making. Consider taking a more informal approach to learning about a grantee’s work such as through phone calls or video meetings.
Be transparent and responsive. Be clear about what you fund and don’t fund. Be clear about your process. Be open and honest about your own struggles as an organization. And respond to emails and calls in a timely manner.
Solicit and act on feedback. When was the last time your asked nonprofits their thoughts about an issue or the work being done in their field?
Offer support beyond the check. Raise up grantees work in your newsletters. Build and nurture peer learning networks. Act as a neutral sounding board.
Is this view of funder-grantee relationships piquing your interest? If so, let’s talk about how you can build these six principals into your grantmaking and the difference it can make in your philanthropy.