What Are The Limits of Foundation Involvement in Their NP’s Business?

Foundations have, traditionally, taken a “hands off” approach to the operation of their Grantees’ business.  Jacob Harold, Philanthropy Program Officer with the William & Flora Hewlett Foundation, thinks it’s time for a change.   Click here to download Harold’s post “Foundations as Catalysts for Collaboration.”

Jacob Harold, Philanthropy Program Officer, William & Flora Hewlett Foundation

Mr. Harold suggests that his view is, often, broader than that of the orgnaizations that he funds.  This fact, though, creates a tactical (not a moral) dilemma: is his “bird’s eye view” (from the perch of Funder) give him an unfair advantage in suggesting changes to the structure of its Non-Profit clients.  His case is supplemented by a small insight:

“…it often takes an outsider or a new party to help a whole be greater than the sum of its parts.”

He believes that the walk the Funder undertakes must be rubber-soled: NP’s are less than happy about someone telling them what to do.  Foundation Staff, like any good facilitator, he cautions “need to be honest, humble and focused on shared purpose.”

As funds for programs continue to shrink, Non-Profits  – both Boards and Staff — struggle to manage Mission-critical activities.   Most professionals in the field understand that the problems we’re facing are too big, the challenges too complex to try to solve through the work of a single organization.  As we search the landscape for new solutions to the problems of declining resources — people, money, planet, etc. — collaborations, partnerships, alliances all begin to make more sense.  

And, here is where the Funder can play a more siginficiant role than in the past: in some cases, Foundation staff can augment the staff of their NP clients by “sharing some of the financial, logistical and intellectual burdens of collaboration,” writes Harold.