While nearly all foundation leaders reported making changes to their grantmaking efforts in 2020, not all are necessarily planning to sustain those changes, a report from the Center for Effective Philanthropy finds.

Based on a survey conducted in April and May of 284 foundation leaders and interviews with leaders of thirty-three foundations and thirty-two nonprofits, the report, Foundations Respond to Crisis: Lasting Change? (51 pages, PDF), found that nearly all foundation leaders said that their work with grantees in 2020 was very different (42 percent) or somewhat different (55 percent) from their work prior to the COVID-19 pandemic. Of the respondents reporting changes in 2020, 21 percent said they sustained all changes into 2021, 41 percent sustained most changes, and 35 percent sustained some changes.

According to the report, the most commonly reported changes were to reduce the burden on grantees by streamlining grant application processes (76 percent) and reporting processes (76 percent). While the vast majority of foundations that streamlined application processes planned to sustain all (23 percent), most (39 percent), or some (33 percent) of those changes, 1 percent did not plan to keep them and 3 percent were undecided; while most of those that streamlined reporting processes planned to sustain all (22 percent), most (31 percent), or some (36 percent) of those changes, 5 percent did not plan to keep them and 6 percent were undecided. The survey also found that 61 percent of respondents reported providing a greater share of grant dollars as unrestricted support, and 65 percent of them planned to continue to do so, while 10 percent did not and 25 percent were undecided. Among the 27 percent that shifted to providing more multiyear unrestricted support, 68 percent planned to continue to do so, 1 percent did not and 31 percent were undecided.

Read the full article about non-profit equity at Candid.