Most 100&Change participants had hopes—but not strong expectations—of going home with $100 million. Instead, they focused on other benefits of participation, and many found ways to win that we never anticipated.

Applicants determine whether to participate in a competition based on the relative value proposition for those who are likely not to win, according to Jaison Morgan, CEO of Common Pool, which helped design and manage the 100&Change application process. By increasing that value, a funder can strengthen the relevance and quality of submissions, Morgan explained in a discussion with Kevin Bolduc from the Center for Effective Philanthropy.

From the beginning, we hoped that reviews and comments on qualifying proposals would prove valuable. Other benefits developed as the program evolved. 100&Changewas designed as a competition for a single $100 million grant to solve a critical problem of our time. In the end, we also granted awards of $15 million each to the other three 100&Change finalists, and awards of $250,000 to the eight semi-finalists in recognition of the time and resources required to participate.

For submissions identified in the top 200 scoring proposals; Charity Navigator's Charities with Bold Solutions; The Center for High Impact Philanthropy's Bold Ideas for Philanthropists to Drive Social Change project; or the Foundation Center's 100&Change Solutions Bank—participation provided visibility and credibility, sometimes leading to financial or in-kind donations from others, and often leading to new relationships.

While it is difficult to know for certain which donations were a result of participation in 100&Change, we estimate their total dollar value so far to be in excess of $10 million, with many times that amount now under active consideration.

Read the full article about 100 & Change by Jeff Ubois at MacArthur Foundation.