Grantmakers have limited resources and their own internal and external constraints. But by asking grantees what they need while being transparent about what is and isn’t possible, these conversations can surface other ways that funders can help: connecting grantees to other nonprofits or donors doing related work, taking a public stance behind the issue your grantee is working on, sharing that grantee’s initiative on social media, covering the registration fee to leadership development opportunity and other ways of showing support.

Often grantees and program officers communicate only in relation to pending proposals. You can break this pattern and deepen relationships by setting up regular phone calls outside of the proposal process.

Read the full article on funder-grantee relationships by Jack Rome at National Committee for Responsive Philanthropy