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| Path: Main Street : Resources & Library : Research Articles : Feature Article |
Working With Foundations at the MillenniumNovember 25, 1998; Canadian FundRaiser
The availability of increasingly sophisticated computer hardware and software has coincided nicely with growing government financial cutbacks, soaring needs for assistance, declining corporate profits and reduced endowment fund income as a result of lower interest rates. Together, these changes in the funding environment are bringing about massive changes in the operations of charitable foundations. Here are a few trends that you should note before making your next grant application:
- They are overwhelmed with a huge and growing flood of grant applications.
- They are turning increasingly to the use of professional staff to process, assess and respond to grant applicants.
- Their funding policies are becoming much more focused in areas of special interest.
- They are emphasizing accountability and outcome evaluation in determining which charities they will support.
- They are giving fewer, but larger, grants, and are no longer trying to satisfy all their applicants.
- They are demanding that the charities they work with demonstrate effective governance, capable management, fiscal solvency, and careful long-range planning.
- They are beginning to look for broad representation on charity boards, including women and minority groups.
- They are sharing information with each other about their projects and their applicants.
- They are increasingly interested in working in coalitions with other granting organizations.
- They are interested in project-specific grants, in which they can focus their impact, and measure the results.
- They expect to be kept informed and up-to-date throughout their involvement with a charity.
- They are increasingly unwilling to assume a charity's right to exist, and to receive financial support. Grant applicants must be willing to justify their requests based on measurable past, current and projected future outcomes of their activities.
- They are demanding focus in the grant applications they approve; the proposed project must be clearly linked to the charity's mission.
Source: "Building Foundation Partnerships", by Ingrid van Rotterdam, Arlett van Rotterdam Partnership, published by the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy. Based on a presentation at the 1998 Fund Raising Congress, Greater Toronto Chapter, National Society of Fund Raising Executives.
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