Among COVID-19’s most startling revelations has been the centrality of supply chains to everything: One link breaks down, and suddenly we’re hoarding toilet paper, turning T-shirts into masks, or paying over top dollar for a used car. Philanthropy’s supply chain—the path from funder to fundee—has shown its vulnerability too, as foundations and other major donors, especially in the pandemic’s early months, have scrambled to get money quickly yet thoughtfully to grassroots organizations serving the hardest-hit communities.

For philanthropy, though, the revelation hasn’t been the shocking breakdown of a seemingly high-performing supply chain, but the underdevelopment of the supply chain’s midsection. The sector’s supply chain isn’t something it’s thought about systematically, and we should use this moment to build some muscle into it.

If it were easy to move philanthropic funding to the people and places where it will do the most good, with enough due diligence and oversight to ensure timely impact, we’d already be doing it all the time. The good news is that it’s not as hard as it seems. We are hitting the mark some of the time, and we can make our supply chain more effective and efficient—with an eye toward racial and economic justice—by building out its under-recognized middle.

Big philanthropic institutions have enormous capacity, but they’re not designed to be nimble, and they are sitting increasingly uncomfortably in their power positions. Spurred by last year’s economic shutdown and racial justice protests, funders are re-examining their grantmaking processes, creating opportunities for an emerging class of supply-chain partners that go beyond simply moving money. At the accelerator Multiplier, we describe these partners as “activators,” because they have a more propulsive, impact-focused approach compared to traditional, transactional philanthropic intermediaries.

Read the full article about the philanthropic supply chain by Ben Jones at Stanford Social Innovation Review.