In 2008, the Ford Foundation made its first foray into using the Grantee Perception Report (GPR) conducted by the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) for vital feedback on how grantees perceive us. Between then and 2017, CEP administered the survey on behalf of Ford four times … and our results were consistently disappointing. Our scores were rarely higher than average. And on the dimensions related to our relationships with grantees our scores were stubbornly in the bottom third, if not fifth, on most indicators.

It was around 2017 and following our fourth survey that the Ford Foundation committed intentionally to strengthening its role as a learning organization, dedicating people and resources through the establishment of an Office of Strategy and Learning. And the institution began building out policies, practices, and ways of engaging that would allow us to improve on the basis of empirical evidence. And, just under three years later, on our next survey, our scores improved markedly.

What made the difference? We believe three overarching factors enabled the change: shifts in grantmaking policy, grantmaking processes, and, lastly and most especially, grantmaking culture.

Grantmaking Policy

Starting in 2016, we made significant changes in how we fund. A core part of this investment was through the BUILD program, which offers five-year general operating support coupled with institutional strengthening funds. From the start, BUILD committed a minimum of 40 percent of Ford’s grantmaking to these forms of investments.

Grantmaking Processes

The second change we undertook was a series of improvements to our grantmaking processes that have benefitted grantees significantly.

Grantmaking Culture

Ultimately, what matters most is the relationship between grantees and their program officers. Creating the space and incentives for program officers to have meaningful conversations with grantees has been a priority for Ford since 2017. In part we did this by dedicating ourselves to the development of clearer strategies and communicating those externally. But we also made an intentional commitment to strengthening the skills of program staff through an onboarding program and a series of learning sessions around what constitutes effective grantmaking practice.

Read the full article about grantee feedback by Luc Athayde-Rizzaro and Bess Rothenberg at The Center for Effective Philanthropy.