Coronavirus is a systemic change that demands a systemic response. Our Rethink, Rebuild initiative envisages a more resilient, more equitable, more progressive future for our sector. In this blog, Clare Wilkins sets out how we can rethink grant-making.

We all know the charity sector is going through a hard time. We can also predict that things are only going to get tougher—we expect need to grow, there to be less money available and many charities to have diminished reserves after digging into them to survive.

On top of this, we expect charities will have limited capacity for collaboration, knowledge sharing and big picture planning, as they focus on meeting the immediate needs of the people they are working to help.

All these issues make it vitally important that charities are supported in the best possible ways—giving them freedom to plan for the future, pursue best practice, help people when and where they need it, and retain skilled staff. With things so difficult at societal level, grant-makers seeking to make the greatest possible impact need to support charities in the right places, at the right times, and with the right terms.

We can learn about the right places and the right issues by using tools like NPC’s data dashboard. Finding effective charities is made easier by using our What Makes A Good Charity? guide. Identifying the right times is also not difficult—charities need support now, and solid commitments for the years ahead. But what about the right terms?

We have built an understanding of the best grant-making terms based on our experience of the sector and what charities tell us. The principles always circle around the same ideas:

  • Unrestricted multi-year funding
  • Reasonable application and reporting requirements
  • Balanced power dynamics

Read the full article about reimagining grantmaking by Clare Wilkins at NPC.