By Ruth Masterson, ASF
At ASF, we are proud to describe our members’ giving as close to the ground and rooted in personal conviction. Our members operate lean—giving with a volunteer team or just one or two staff—and they tend to be well connected to the communities in which they fund and responsive to community needs.
But what does this mean in practice? What kinds of grants do ASF member foundations make? We turned to our 2013 Foundation Operations and Management Report.
Our members make grants that support grantees’ infrastructure and strengthen the fields in which they fund.
- 85% make general operating support grants
- 79% make multiyear grants
- 66% make capacity building grants
GEO highlighted the importance of each of these to grantmaker success in its 2011 report Patterns and Trends in Grantmaking.
They respond to needs, help grantees make important connections, and create forums where they too learn about community needs.
- 58% help grantees by highlighting them to other funders or the public
- 54% make disaster response grants
- 53% convene grantees and other nonprofits in their giving areas
They are willing to take calculated risks and reach out in creative ways.
- 37% make advocacy grants
- 29% make international or global grants
- More than half make grants to start-up nonprofits
- About one-quarter make program-related investments (PRIs)
They are curious and interested in exploring new ways of giving.
- 39% want to learn more about making PRIs
- 32% want to learn more about how to convene nonprofits in their funding areas
Do you give in any of these ways? As you work to leverage your resources and have greater impact, are there new ways of making grants that you’re curious to test?
Related posts
Grantee Capacity Building: First, Do No Harm
Small Foundations Embrace Advocacy to Catalyze Change
Related resources
Leveraging Your Assets With Loans and Other Program Related Investments
Working Better Together: Building Nonprofit Collaborative Capacity
Senior Program Manager Ruth Masterson works closely with members to create written materials and training curricula, and answers member questions on foundation administration, governance, boards, and tax and legal topics. She is also is the project manager for ASF’s Practical Board Self-Assessment. Prior to joining ASF, Ruth served nonprofits in her work at Adler & Colvin, the Council on Foundations, and the International Center for Not-for-Profit Law.
