I have been reading a lot of different articles over the past few months trying to gain as much insight as possible about the woes of philanthropy and non-profits in an ongoing recession. I read that this recession will be a test of the fortitude and viability of the nonprofit sector and only the strong will survive. I have also read that donors are being more selective than ever and more focus is going to be implemented by Foundations across the country.
There is nothing wrong with focus and expecting results from your investments. However, a real balancing act for Foundations is the long term impact grants and the short term “crisis” grants. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not advocating that we trade impact grant dollars for crisis grant dollars but we cannot ignore the demand for them.
As a funder in a poor state, we have received more grant proposals in the last 12 months from Free Medical Clinics (9), Food Banks and Soup Kitchens (13), Homeless shelters and temporary housing facilities (14), and clothing venues (3) than in any single year over the past 13 years. People are hurting and they are lining up outside of these facilities in very large numbers. Meanwhile, these organizations are suffering the consequences of a poor economy as their dollars continue to dwindle.
The balance I referred to earlier is about paying attention to your social environment and filling the gap even if it does not have a long term impact. We are willing to invest some of the Foundation’s funds for these purposes.
Philanthropic scholars and theorists would likely tell us we are wasting our money because there is very little to measure with these kinds of grants and you really don’t show that you’ve made much of a difference. Well, so be it.
Let’s call it tithing to our religious institutions. We give 10% of our grantmaking budget for the purpose of basic needs and crisis situations because the demand is so great. In this community, all you have to do is drive past the homeless shelter or soup kitchen at 5:00 in the afternoon and the line goes on forever. Drive down to the food bank and people are lined up out the door and around the building. Those are all the indicators we need for those funds.
It is the true meaning of "evidenced based” because we have seen it with our own eyes. We all have difficult decisions to make and we certainly want to make the most pragmatic ones. Let’s not forget those who are victims and are faced with the consequences of all the things that have gone wrong over the last year or so. We can call it our own version of TARP or bailout money if it makes us feel any better.
There is nothing wrong with focus and expecting results from your investments. However, a real balancing act for Foundations is the long term impact grants and the short term “crisis” grants. Now don’t get me wrong, I am not advocating that we trade impact grant dollars for crisis grant dollars but we cannot ignore the demand for them.
As a funder in a poor state, we have received more grant proposals in the last 12 months from Free Medical Clinics (9), Food Banks and Soup Kitchens (13), Homeless shelters and temporary housing facilities (14), and clothing venues (3) than in any single year over the past 13 years. People are hurting and they are lining up outside of these facilities in very large numbers. Meanwhile, these organizations are suffering the consequences of a poor economy as their dollars continue to dwindle.
The balance I referred to earlier is about paying attention to your social environment and filling the gap even if it does not have a long term impact. We are willing to invest some of the Foundation’s funds for these purposes.
Philanthropic scholars and theorists would likely tell us we are wasting our money because there is very little to measure with these kinds of grants and you really don’t show that you’ve made much of a difference. Well, so be it.
Let’s call it tithing to our religious institutions. We give 10% of our grantmaking budget for the purpose of basic needs and crisis situations because the demand is so great. In this community, all you have to do is drive past the homeless shelter or soup kitchen at 5:00 in the afternoon and the line goes on forever. Drive down to the food bank and people are lined up out the door and around the building. Those are all the indicators we need for those funds.
It is the true meaning of "evidenced based” because we have seen it with our own eyes. We all have difficult decisions to make and we certainly want to make the most pragmatic ones. Let’s not forget those who are victims and are faced with the consequences of all the things that have gone wrong over the last year or so. We can call it our own version of TARP or bailout money if it makes us feel any better.
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