By Andy Carroll, Exponent Philanthropy

“Writing checks only gets you to a certain level. We have reached a higher level of investment, as a result of our convening, the training we do, and mobilizing people. We’re now deeply involved, and committed for the long term, working in tandem with partners. Our nongrant work fundamentally changed the way we as a foundation work.“ —Brian Rogers, Rogers Family Foundation, CA

Money has long been considered the currency of philanthropy. Dollars are central to our practices, identity, and public perception. Philanthropists are known as “grantmakers” or “funders,” and impact is thought of in terms of financing power.

But some foundations and donors are quietly pushing the boundaries of philanthropic practice, with a type of philanthropy that hasn’t even been named yet. By combining grants with research, technical assistance, convening, connecting, advocacy, mobilization, and other kinds of direct action, philanthropists are changing, and sometimes completely transforming, their philanthropy.

Funders use their many nondollar assets to do the following and much more:

• Introduce promising or high-performing grantees to carefully selected funders who may share an interest in particular work.

• Provide direct advice and consulting to grantseekers and grantees to develop their management and build their capacity in areas such as finance and accounting, technology, fundraising, and communications.

• Convene community members for a variety of purposes, including raising awareness of urgent issues, sharing information, identifying gaps, brainstorming solutions, coordinating action, and building coalitions.

• Raise awareness of a problem or solution, or advocate for action, through meetings, emails, online articles, letters to the editor, and networking with community leaders.

How do some funders come to this transition? What paved the way for the shift?

On-Ramps and Catalysts 

None of the funders we interviewed indicated that nongrant work was something they planned to do in advance, as part of some new strategic direction, for example. Rather, they started doing one thing, usually in response to an idea, immediate need, or request. Taking a first step yielded results and revealed opportunities, which led to more activities.

What impelled funders to take that first step?

An impulse to engage with people—This mindset was common to every funder’s evolution into nongrant work. They experienced a desire to engage; have conversations with nonprofits, community agencies, and citizens; and reach beyond paper-based transactions.

A powerful on-ramp, then, is engaging with people and listening. “What holds us back,” says Brian Rogers of Rogers Family Foundation, “is fear—fear of getting close to grantees. Once you get over that fear, you realize people are happy to have other resources and tools, and escape their silos.”

Seeing across the community—Few institutions in our society have the freedom and broad perspective of foundations and donors. Funders who do nongrant work are ones who value this broad perspective, and put it to use. They value the knowledge they gather from interacting with many organizations, and the freedom to identify common needs and trends.

Recognizing nonprofits can be isolated and need help—Highly engaged funders gather a tremendous amount of knowledge and insight about the challenges of nonprofits in their communities. Their deep understanding of nonprofits’ needs impels these funders to want to help organizations become stronger.

The isolation of nonprofit organizations is also of great concern to funders who listen and engage regularly. Realizing the extent of this isolation is among the most powerful things that drives funders to get involved in nongrant work.

Joyce Heptner of Ausherman Family Foundation began to convene the executive directors of nonprofits in the Frederick, Maryland, area after the foundation’s co-founder and trustee heard an executive remark, at a social gathering, that she didn’t know any of the other nonprofit executives in the area. And participants of those convenings are valuing the information sharing. Says Heptner, “I can see the light bulbs going off.”

Recognizing your nondollar assets and resources—Funders are also influenced to take first steps into nongrant work by recognizing the value of their skills and experience. Celeste Land of Land Family Foundation and members of her family, including siblings, spouses, and adult children, have worked with nonprofit organizations as staff, volunteers, and board members. In their role as funders, the family offers that wealth of experience in the form of advice, consulting, and perspective to small nonprofits.

Gary Castagnola of the Ellen & Clarence Peterson Foundation was a financial planner, and his experience engaging clients in conversations about their goals was useful in helping new grassroots organizations develop their goals, vision, and strategy.

Brian Rogers encourages his staff to contribute their talents in the community. The foundation seeks to catalyze city-wide change in Oakland to improve the quality of public school education. As part of its strategy, Brian’s staff have provided technology training to teachers, written proposals for schools for major grants, and served on boards of nonprofit partners. He even has sent a staff person to “infiltrate the unified school district technology office to help build their capacity.” Says Rogers, “We, as foundations, hire really talented people. Why keep their skills bottled up?”

It is perhaps most surprising that funders seldom embark upon nongrant work intentionally. We believe this is because they do a lot of listening first and are drawn into closer relationships; only at that point, after they learn and make sense of needs, do they humbly and carefully offer more than grants.

See the full article in this preview of Exponent Philanthropy’s Essentials publication

See Exponent Philanthropy’s other resources on philanthropic leadership

Senior Program Director Andy Carroll writes resources, designs workshops, and facilitates seminars for funders. Andy also dedicates a significant portion of his time to managing our Leadership Initiative that defines, validates, nurtures, and celebrates the many ways philanthropists lead. Andy has 25 years of experience in nonprofit organizations, and he enjoys talking with funders about their questions, interests, passions, and plans for making a difference.