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Foundations in the US have been taking serious hits on their endowments and grantseekers are feeling the squeeze globally. “This looks really gloomy,” said Vinny McGee, Advisor to The Atlantic Philanthropies, “but now is the time for grantseekers to knuckle down and to approach their operations and their income-generation in really creative ways”.
McGee shared some of his perspectives on the future of funding with 20 participants from nonprofits, CSI units and funding organisations at Inyathelo’s first Breakfast on the 2nd Floor, held on 25th March 2009. Kicking off with an early start at 07h30, Inyathelo’s Breakfasts provide a space for people across the grantmaking and grantseeking sectors to come together in an energised, conversational space to discuss common issues.
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“While some foundations have taken the approach of limiting the scope and size of their grantmaking, others are taking an approach of disbursing a greater percentage of their income. Whatever the funding strategies, everyone is going to have to weather the storm for a few years to come,” said McGee. Less funding is now coupled with the need to achieve more over the next four or five years as governments find themselves increasingly unable to provide the size of the socio-economic safety net required in times of economic crisis.
Key approaches proposed by participants included the development of partnerships and shared administrative operations between organisations, the need to consider organisational mergers and devising additional ways to generate organisational income.
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