Folly #41: Freedom to Transition
Providing support for what's next.
It seems all is in transition, and that feels … freeing. As the year changes, in January we can look ahead with optimism. One talented fundraising colleague transitioned from working for a consulting firm to working with nonprofits her own way. Another favorite colleague, Lauren Crichton, wrote about learning to embrace renewal and change in her aptly named
.In fundraising, general operating support is that kind of transition. It’s a funder saying:
Take the grant money and we’ll leave you in peace to do your work.
Sadly, this is not something that nonprofits often hear.
Statistics on General Operating Support
Only 25% of foundations surveyed by Candid – 130 of 513 in 2022 – directed most of their grantmaking to general operating support. That number was up by one (1 foundation, not 1%) from 2021.
It’s even sadder that:
So few foundations even responded to the Candid survey – just 513 of 2,500.
Some of these foundations are doing a bit of magical thinking on what “general operating support” is.
“Support for programs is essentially support for operations in many of the ways the requests were written…”
Um, no. Support for programs is restricted support. Period. General operating support is not restricted.
(Maybe they should ask their grantees. Every nonprofit organization knows what unrestricted funding is.)
I’ve worked over the past year with some wonderful foundations who make multi-year, 6 and 7-figure grants for unrestricted, general operating support. They give essential funding to help organizations transition to what they can be. Sure, they request interim and final reports, but the money doesn’t pigeon-hole the nonprofit into having to pay out of pocket (also known by the ridiculous term “cost sharing”) for staff to do just one program. Check back for interviews with them here – and if you know of others, please introduce me!
I’m feeling a bit philosophical about transitions.
This week we lost our beloved family dog Kelly. The kids’ dog – they grew up showering her with affection and teaching her tricks. After a long happy life, she spent her last day with my daughter and me, going to the beach and getting ice cream. All day we shared favorite Kelly stories, pictures and videos.
I’m grateful for all the small transitions in my life, but when the big one comes I hope I’m like Kelly – those who love me spend time together, laugh at stories, and smile over photos.
Thank you so much for the shoutout, Melanie!
DEAR Kelly, whose love was unrestricted!