CharityVillage® Research: Grant makers get more focused

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Grant makers get more focused
July 31 1996; Canadian FundRaiser

A tidal wave of applications from new organizations is flooding foundation offices across the country. At the same time, foundations are becoming more focused, communicative and expert in their fields of interest, and are demanding increased accountability and better evaluation processes. In an address at the 22nd Annual Big Sisters Conference, Sherry Rodney Kushner recently pointed out that, "Overall, their grants are becoming more project-specific, and they are looking for effective organizational management and governance." Innovative approaches

According to Kushner, Family Foundations have experienced substantial growth, a fact largely attributed to new Canadians who are bringing their generosity to Canadian shores. They too are narrowing their focus of interest and are putting more emphasis on innovative approaches, and the larger ones seem to be moving toward the American model in their grant-making policies.
Managing many different funds

"The fastest growing segment of philanthropy," Kushner said, "is in the area of Community Foundations, which are growing both in number and in the asset value of their funds, the result of planned giving programs attracting estate funds, combined with their ability to not only manage increasingly large amounts of money, but also large numbers of different funds."
Target-specific approaches

In response to a deluge of corporate charitable requests, and a desire to maintain a consistent and recession-proof donation level, the number of Corporate Foundations has also burgeoned, she noted. These foundations more and more are opting to support target-specific approaches linked to both their corporate mission and their community corporate operations.
"More Canadian charities are becoming aware that American Foundations are indeed willing to fund Canadian programs, especially those that can be franchised," said Kushner. Often overlooked as a funding source, American Foundations are continuing to grow and to impact positively on the Canadian Foundations that are starting to follow their lead. Very proactive within their fields of interest, and astute at setting their own agenda, American Foundations have become extremely focused in their support, generally choosing to fund only proposals that clearly meet their objectives."
Trends that affect grantsmanship

New technology has made the production of multiple grant applications easy, a situation that has created an virtual onslaught of requests that is straining Canadian foundations' resources to consider them carefully at the very time that lower interest rates have negatively impacted on foundation investment income. Government cutbacks and devolution simply add to the pressure. The result: an extremely demanding and competitive environment where only the most effective and well-prepared approaches will have a chance of survival.
For more information on foundations, contact the Canadian Centre for Philanthropy (416-515-0764), Metasoft Systems (604-683-6711), and the new American Foundation research (Rainforest Publications 1-800-655-7729 or http://www.rpbooks.com) both for funding, and as an opportunity to find great ideas that can be transferred to this country.