Giving Compass' Take:

• Ford Foundation's Vuyiswa Sidzumo discusses the dilemmas, contradictions and excitements of being a program officer, emphasizing that it is a privilege with unique challenges.

• All nonprofit professionals can learn from the observations of someone in this role, who sees the work that foundations do from many different angles. What are we doing to expand the capacity of our organizations from within?

• Here's how funders often hurt the nonprofits they are trying to help.

In my role as a program officer, I also try, in the best way possible, to protect the interests of beneficiaries by asking the right questions. As we all know, beneficiaries often have no say in how programs are designed, and how organizations determine priorities for them. A conversation about the power relations between nonprofit organizations and beneficiaries is another that deserves attention, but that is a topic for another day.

In summary and to be true to the topic, this is my take:

Dilemmas. How far can I go in being supportive of the work of organizations when things are not going right? In cases where the problems relate to systems and staff challenges not at the top, the conversation tends to be easier. Organizations welcome support from foundations, and work hard to realign their institutions to maximize impact.

Contradictions. How do you stay true to your foundation’s purpose and your own obligations to assess and manage risk, while also possibly destabilizing institutions by being honest? For program officers, this is a difficult balance, but one that we have no choice but to play.

Excitements. Healthy relationships between program officers and grantee organizations are exciting and can be powerful. They help strengthen institutions and often lead to sustained social change. Often these relationships require maturity and a good chemistry. When there are changes at either institution, this often sets the clock back as new relationships need to be formed.

Read the full article about what it's like to be a foundation program officer by Vuyiswa Sidzumo at cep.org.