posted on: Wednesday, February 10, 2010

“I have always depended on the kindness of strangers.”

- Blanche DuBoise, A Streetcar Named Desire




Photo by: Francesco Marino/freedigitalphotos.net

Playwright Tennessee Williams’ famous line also holds true on the philanthropic stage. After all, where can strangers offer more kindness than in philanthropy—where grantmakers and nonprofit leaders depend on each other—and where so many people in need depend on the grantmaker-nonprofit partnership?

Last week, Arabella Advisers, the Washington Regional Association of Grantmakers (WRAG), and PNC co-hosted a panel discussion on bolstering the impact of philanthropy. The animated discussion focused on two reports: Arabella Adviser’s High-Impact Giving Opportunities: Philanthropy That Makes a Difference and WRAG’s Beyond Dollars Investing in Big Change: How Washington Area Grantmakers are Creating Lasting Impact. Although Arabella and WRAG each published independently and included different case studies, when I read the reports in sequence, I thought they equipped grantmakers with clearer advice. Overall, I viewed the strategies WRAG identified (timing and momentum, a strong voice, leveraging resources, and true partnerships) as four tools necessary for approaching any philanthropic initiative. Then, Arabella’s report suggested four philanthropic initiatives (policy advocacy, broad alliances, mission investment, and public-private partnerships) that I thought grantmakers could better pursue with the tools from WRAG’s report.

The reports shared similar messages, but the most prominent common denominator was a simple concept: partnerships. However, don’t let the simplicity detract from its significance; partnerships should be the foundation to any grantmaking strategy. Grantmaking suffocates in silos, especially in a vastly interconnected world that reaps tremendous rewards from partnerships between grantmakers and nonprofits, as well as governments, businesses, and people in need.

Partnership Benefits:
Both reports and the panelists championed the importance of partnerships, but more can be said on the topic. Foundations benefit from partnerships during every stage of the grantmaking process.

While researching a new grant opportunity, for example, partners increase the knowledge base. Think tank scholars, professors, reporters, practitioners, retired experts, and counterparts at other organizations all hold fortunes of insights and information, and they are only conversations away. Before making a funding commitment, a grantmaker can pool resources and overcome barriers to entry by partnering with another grantmaker who shares programming goals. If grantmakers forge partnerships, they will dedicate more resources to programming. Partnerships are not vehicles for grantmakers to deliver static, one-time gifts to nonprofits. Rather, I believe grantmaker-nonprofit partnerships are proof of dynamic relationships between likeminded people who see grants not as charity or hand-outs, but as instruments of social justice.

Partnership Responsibilities:

Although the reports and panelists touched on the responsibilities grantmakers and nonprofits accept when they form partnerships, partnership benefits received more time and attention. Thus, I wanted to continue the conversation of partnership responsibilities. Interestingly, however, the responsibilities I enumerate below can become benefits. By identifying and executing each of these responsibilities, the impact of philanthropic funding expands.

(1) Conduct background research:
Understand both the big picture and the nuances of a given situation (and determine if, when, and how you can replicate best practices).

(2) Learn everyone’s role:
Who is the lead decision-maker? Who comprises the supporting cast? Who labors backstage, and how can you ensure that their accomplishments receive earned recognition? How can your performance enhance the performances of others?

(3) Read from the same script:
Share a common definition and prioritization of goals (short-term and long-term), strategies for achieving those goals, and benchmarks for achieving those strategies. For example, is your goal to create better schools? Well, how do you define “better”? Does better refer to teachers? If so, are you referring to better teacher quality or quantity? What metrics will determine if the abilities or number of teachers are met? Then, consider whether deficiencies in teacher quality and quantity are the core problems, or if they are symptoms of deeper problems in the education infrastructure.

(4) Plan the length of your run (multi-year grants):
Even the largest foundations have finite resources, and they still shoulder the burdened of saying “no” to many worthy causes. So, when foundations do say “yes,” they must grant both funding and adequate time for the funding to begin reaping success. Sometimes, unrealistic expectations of certain one-year grants can lead to failure.

(5) Encourage audience participation:
Guarantee that the goals you share with your partners align with the needs of the community you serve. If realignment is needed, listen to community members and adapt. Don’t squeeze the proverbial square peg in the round hole. Also, consider the long-term value of civic engagement, advocacy, and/or community organizing (and realize that your audience may have a different lexicon for these ideas).

Christine Reeves is field assistant at the National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy (NCRP).