December 8, 2005 | Read Time: 1 minute
Not All Grants Are Created Equal: Why Nonprofits Need General Operating Support From Foundations, examines the debate over whether foundations should provide more general operating support in place of project-specific grants. Foundations’ willingness to offer general support has been declining since the 1980s, the report says, in part because they find its impact difficult to evaluate and worry that it will make recipients dependent on their money. Charities, meanwhile, argue that the effectiveness of general operating support can be evaluated, albeit over a longer period of time than project support. They also say that all types of support, even for specific projects, risk building dependency. The report finds that, of all types of charities, conservative advocacy groups receive the biggest share of general support in proportion to their overall budgets. It also explores which foundations are most enthusiastic about providing general operating support, including the California Wellness Foundation, the Scherman Foundation, and the San Francisco Foundation.
Publisher: National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy, 2001 S Street, N.W., Suite 620, Washington, D.C. 20009; (202) 387-9177; http://www.ncrp.org; 28 pages; free for download on the publisher’s Web site.
