Nonprofits are being asked to solve complex, fast-moving problems \u2014 from gaps in public benefits to shifts in the policy landscape \u2014 while working within funding structures that often make it hard to adapt.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
In our work at New America, to improve how families access public benefits, we ran into this tension often. Like many organizations, our team at the New Practice Lab<\/a> juggles multiple grants, each with its own reporting requirements, timelines, and definitions of success. <\/p>\n\n\n\n The administrative burden is significant. More important, it constrains how we work. When new information points us in a better direction, changing course isn\u2019t always easy \u2014 or even possible \u2014 without risking misalignment with what was laid out in our grant agreements.<\/p>\n\n\n\n So we tried something different.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We looked to nonprofits that had experimented with more flexible approaches to grant seeking. The Institute for Healthcare Improvement, for example, built partnerships with funders<\/a> around shared learning goals. Community Solutions<\/a> brought together a small group of funders to support long-term progress on specific outcomes, rather than discrete programs. At Civilla<\/a>, a nonprofit design studio in Detroit, the team focused on achieving concrete results first, trusting that funding would follow.<\/p>\n\n\n\n The Schusterman Family Philanthropies<\/a>, one of our existing funders, urged us to move in this direction. We drew from these examples and, with Schusterman and a small group of foundations that also included the Ballmer Group<\/a>, the Open Society Foundations<\/a>, and the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation<\/a>, proposed and tested a new model of grant making. Instead of structuring grants around individual projects, we asked them to align around a shared goal and a collaborative way of working.<\/p>\n\n\n\n We weren\u2019t sure how many foundations would go for this. But within 18 months, five had signed on as lead partners.<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n The approach had a few key elements:<\/p>\n\n\n\n We weren\u2019t sure how many foundations would go for this. But within 18 months, five had signed on as lead partners.<\/p>\n\n\n Inspired by our peers, we redesigned grants around a shared goal.<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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