Flexible Programmatic Funding
Consider giving flexible funding within a specific program. The civil society organizations and social movements can decide on the projects they want to develop within the program based on their plans for impact. The funding they receive is programmatic in focus and therefore more flexible in the types of projects they can implement. This allows funders to focus on impact of grantee’s work rather than how dollars are being spent and simplifies grant proposal review and monitoring processes.
This practice is best for: funders restricted to a particular programmatic focus but want to make their approach more equitable and flexible.
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Grantmakers would focus financial due diligence at the programmatic level rather than the project level, allowing a more strategic assessment of grantee financial health and impact model (and building program officer capacity for this type of analysis)
Grantees would be incentivized to understand their financial model and cost structure across long-term programs (rather than the arbitrary budget categories of funders) in order to appropriately budget for projects that fit a bigger mission for impact.
