Can grantmakers and nonprofits work together? What could that even look like? Signs of a growing trend could look like this:
- More communication between those with financial resources (grantmakers) and those with the muscle, spirit, and willingness to translate those resources into progress.
- More affirmation of common purposes, less on expressions of mistrust.
- More demand from both quarters that our public systems and private markets produce more fair and equitable outcomes.
- More communication of real progress and real problems, less on “community relations” or chest-thumping.
- More support for sustained effort and helpful assistance, less on shutting down efforts that don’t pan out immediately.
- More funding to go deeper, less for one-shot skin-deep projects.
- Less enforcement of the dysfunctional business model.
- More spine from grantmakers, less self-protection and less avoidance of real opportunities to serve the greater good.
- More spine from nonprofits, less self-protection and less avoidance of real opportunities to serve the greater good.
- More support from grantmakers to grow nonprofits’ capabilities, less on projects that don’t help to develop organizational capacity.
- More resources to educate the community and engage it in a kind of activism that can energize even while it’s reeling from the effects of all the current crises.
- More intention to fix our social systems, with support “moving the needle” in those arenas that are clearly not working.
- More support for generosity, inclusion, and engagement.
For two good examples of grantmakers and nonprofits working together see these posts on this site: Supporting Low-Income Neighborhood Organizations: A Guide for Community Foundations (sponsored by the C.S. Mott Foundation) and Building Community Capacity: The Potential of Community Foundations (sponsored by the Ford Foundation).
Steven E. Mayer, Ph.D. / Effective Communities Project
Originally posted to this site June 28, 2011 / Most recently revised November 7, 2021
