Steve McCormick remembers where he came from, urging foundations to consider the perspective of their grantees. As important is acting in ways that are consistent with the beliefs of the foundation’s donors, says McCormick. For the Moore Foundation, that means never wavering from the belief that “it’s not the amount of money that makes the difference,” but how the money is used.

Based on his days at The Nature Conservancy, Steve McCormick advises donors to work hard to understand how grantees see the relationship and to explore opportunities for collaboration with other donors to make grantees’ lives easier.

Get more insights from a former grant seeker at The Bridgespan Group.