A new study finds what it calls “movement capture,” when private funders use their influence to redirect the focus and energy of social movements.
Vu Le is a famously funny man in a sector that gets so anxious around truth-telling that it would rather turn itself inside out than challenge absurd practices among those who hold the purse strings.
Foundations spend $1.3 billion annually to support nonprofit journalism worldwide. A study based on 74 interviews of nonprofits, foundations, and intermediaries finds that the funding does not reduce journalistic autonomy, but it does subtly alter the nature of the journalistic enterprise.
What in the world would sustain a funder-grantee partnership over decades and through multiple transitions on both sides?
Nonprofits must look to all sources of funding to remain sustainable. At the same time, a nonprofit’s reputation can easily be tainted, whether by misuse of funds or the company they keep.
Managing cash flow can be tricky for nonprofits. A newly released study from the Open Road Alliance identifies some of the ways philanthropy inadvertently contributes to grantee cash flow crunches, as well highlighting some ways to mitigate those problems.
In Michigan, an organization with a unique mission and a single source of funding goes under. Some may not notice the tree falling, but those who have lived in cities where arson takes hold know the devastation it causes and the key importance of the tools needed to fight it.
Even when nonprofits work toward the same goal, their decision-making processes can differ drastically, which can lead to major, publicly aired, disagreements.
Venture philanthropy may or may not work, but the dialogue about partnership between nonprofits and philanthropy is critical.
For experienced nonprofit leaders, the good news is not in the findings themselves, but in that they are being offered by foundation leaders, who are beginning to recognize that much of the responsibility for change lies on their shoulders. Still, unintended consequences loom.
