The Flexible Funding Campaign: Grant Seekers’ Call to Action
Foundations love applicants with potential. But they refuse to fund in ways that unlock it.
For decades, nonprofit advocates have implored philanthropies to issue more unrestricted support. The pleas peaked during the pandemic, when foundations designated a mere 18 percent of 2021 awards as flexible. That’s an unacceptable statistic, especially since multiple studies show that sizable general support frees organizations to deliver “breakthrough potential.”
What’s more, a study of Ballmer Group grantees revealed that 100% of recipients used their unrestricted grants to strengthen programs, the very thing most foundations demand of project-based recipients. Awardees also invested in financial health and infrastructure—areas that funders use to evaluate applicants but rarely fund proactively.
Many grant seekers hesitate to ask program officers for flexible funding. They worry that pushing on the status quo might jeopardize future awards.
The resulting project grants lack urgency. They are designed 12 months in advance of an award, in a world that changes dramatically over that period. AI, federal budget cuts, climate change, and social instability morph even the largest project opportunities into anchors, weighing down organizations that need to pivot.
This is a call for every grant seeker to advocate for general operating support.
Announcing our field’s Flexible Funding Campaign.
Its goal: Make unrestricted grants standard practice.
Activating Grant Seeking’s Front Line
Only nonprofit chief executives, heads of development, and grant specialists can change the status quo. If you are reading this piece, you know foundation staffers who are confident in your judgement. You can convey the benefits of general support and serve as an ally when your contact is sympathetic. It’s time for all grant seekers to take action.
Why a collective effort? One lone voice goes unheard. It’s hard to ignore hundreds of grantees calling for the same endgame. It’s time to make this case as an industry.
Why not focus on multi-year giving? The current economic uncertainty makes long-term commitments a hard sell this year. It’s time to concentrate on flexible funding.
Why now? Restricted grants assume an operational and societal stability that doesn’t exist. Communities need nonprofits that can adapt and respond to increasing unpredictability. It’s time to treat this as the urgent issue it is.
Only a consistent call—over many months—will ensure that funder affinity groups, philanthropy executives, and foundation boards can’t ignore this topic. The campaign must continue until general operating support becomes the norm.
Winning Over the Foundation Boardroom
You won’t encounter foundation board members during a grant application process. Yet, they approve, if not develop, funding models, making them the ultimate audience for this campaign.
Many have business backgrounds. They know that if they buy stock in Apple, they invest in the whole company. They can’t funnel dollars to one pet product. Yet, the mindset that prevails in foundation boardrooms is the nonprofit equivalent of checking a box that says, “Let’s fund the iPhone.”
These board members see your work in summary form, presented by foundation staff. They haven’t worked in nonprofit organizations. They haven’t experienced the sudden loss of a grant. They haven’t assembled the kaleidoscope of pieces that must crystallize to fill funding gaps. They haven’t engaged in the acrobatics needed to sustain an organization fueled primarily with restricted funds.
They need context, and it needs to come from the source.
Mobilizing Foundation Staff
Your most trusted foundation contacts can build a bridge to board members. Many understand the value of flexible funding but lack the authority to change policy.
Begin with connections whose philanthropies fund your nonprofit most generously and consistently. Foundation staff need your voice to make the case to their bosses and boards. Offer them language and logic they can take to their leadership:
“You are among the biggest supporters of our work, and I value the results we’ve achieved together. This year, we are prioritizing the flexibility needed to respond to this unpredictable environment. I’d like to discuss general support, which will allow us to continue the work that means the most to your foundation while maintaining our momentum when needs shift.”
You can acknowledge potential constraints:
“I understand these decisions involve multiple layers, and I can equip you with stories, data, and context. If it helps your internal conversation, I can share examples of how unrestricted support from other sources helped us deliver strong results. I’d ultimately love to speak with your board so that they can hear from a grantee.”
Be clear about your end goals. You’re advocating for unrestricted grants and want your contact to share your message with the board. You’re looking for a program officer to convey your message at a board meeting or invite you to speak. (When that happens, reach out to me. I’ll send you talking points.)
You can be an ally in igniting internal conversations.
Making Flexibility Your Default
Philanthropy must feel a tidal wave of support for flexibility:
In every funder conversation, ask about the foundation’s approach to unrestricted grants. Make unrestricted support your primary request when possible. Reassure your contact that you can promise, track, and report on measures of success, using another investor’s gift as an example.
In every written funder communication, dedicate a section to making the case for general operating support, even if you must apply for a restricted grant: “General support has allowed us to adapt and strengthen this project, most recently when [brief example]. We welcome a conversation about how your support could fuel similar impact.”
In every report, even if the current grant is restricted, share how unrestricted funds from any source helped expand, improve, or sustain impact. When circumstances shift during a grant period, say to compensate for lost federal money, highlight where flexible funds filled a critical gap, and the results of that change.
In online platforms, including your website, educate potential supporters about the benefits of general operating support. Offer case studies and data that demonstrate your organization’s ability to move nimbly toward results when circumstances have demanded it and funding has enabled it.
Your goal is not to make funders feel guilty but to illustrate how unrestricted funding helps improve outcomes.
Getting Started in Three Steps
Imagine if every nonprofit in your region advocates for unrestricted funding. Consistently. Foundation staff will hear requests for and references to it. Daily. They will be compelled to take that message to their boards. Repeatedly.
If you want to give this effort its best chance, take action now:
1. Position yourself.
a. Schedule a couple of hours on your calendar to do the following:
b. Identify grant templates where you can insert messages that encourage consideration of general operating support. See above for sample messaging.
c. Include a story of flexible dollars that allowed your organization to pivot, innovate, or strengthen its work.
2. Begin outreach.
a. List your 5-10 closest foundation contacts.
b. Request 15-minute strategy conversations about the importance of flexible funding.
c. Ask, “What would help you make the case for general operating support?”
d. Offer to meet with foundation boards.
3. Spread the word.
a. Raise the idea of a Flexible Funding Campaign in forums of the Association of Fundraising Professionals, Grant Professionals Association, other professional groups, and social media.
b. Forward this post to internal and external colleagues who interact regularly with funders. Get them involved.
The success of this effort depends on the number of grant makers and grant seekers who learn about it. Hold yourself accountable by adding it to your performance metrics. What percentage of your top funders will you engage in this effort?
This is not about being demanding or ungrateful. It’s about urging decision makers to enact the right strategy.
I’ve watched cherished nonprofits benefit from large, unrestricted grants. Even when awards were far smaller than MacKenzie Scott’s infusions, these organizations thrived when they could sock something away in their reserves, invest in new technology, and support their communities more fluidly.
If you think this effort is hopeless, recall when cigarette companies were finally under fire for marketing their lethal products. It was obvious for decades that ingesting smoke was a bad idea. Yet, everyone around me took part in it. Until suddenly they didn’t.
America’s nonprofits have many challenges ahead. Among the simplest fixes is a campaign to let the sector breathe a little easier.
The moment is urgent. The path forward is collective.
Let me know your thoughts in the comments or via a private note.