Last summer, the Robert Wood Johnson Foundation and the Annie E. Casey Foundation each created a rapid-response grantmaking program to help nonprofits across the US use local data to support equitable COVID-19 response and recovery. The Urban Institute managed the grant initiatives for these funders and provided technical assistance and support to the grantees. With the grantee projects complete, my colleagues and I reflected on lessons from the experience so local and national philanthropies can consider how to structure similar programs, not only in reaction to a crisis but also to be responsive to community needs at all times.

Grantees created valuable insights for their communities.

From identifying challenges in implementing assistance for tenants facing eviction in Dallas to assessing COVID-19’s effects on child care services in Cleveland, grantee teams of researchers and community-based organizations created actionable knowledge and recommendations on urgent questions for local policymakers, philanthropic partners, and service providers. Their projects spanned subjects and policy areas that included affordable housing, evictions, food security, child care services, and equitable transit-oriented development.

Local partnerships created through these grants built community-wide data capacity.

Grantee teams collaborated in new ways, with resident-led research driving projects. Grantees also engaged young people in research tasks and, through their community engagement strategies, ensured the research and data they produced would align with what communities wanted. They deepened and strengthened their partnerships, with some making plans and seeking funding to continue working together.

And though grantees were locally focused, the subjects and policy areas they worked on are part of ongoing federal COVID-19 response and recovery initiatives. Going forward, grantees can inform how their communities use federal funds toward local pandemic response and recovery, and they have new capacities and connections that will prepare them for emerging challenges and crises.

Read the full article about responsive grantmaking from NNIP HQ at Medium.