Foundation Funding

Foundations are nonprofit organizations set up as a vehicle to donate or invest private wealth in social causes. Foundations generally give grants to CSOs for a specific period to execute projects that achieve certain outcomes for the community. Foundations expect CSOs to report back to them on how the funds were used and share data on outcomes achieved. Depending on the foundation, the grant size could range from one-time, smaller amounts to larger multiyear commitments.

Foundations providing grant funding may be based in the same country as the CSO or in a different country (international foundations). They may also be involved in impact investing as an investor providing loans, equity investments, or other financing mechanisms.

This model is especially good for

A CSO with strong messaging and a partnerships team that can find alignment between the mission of the CSO and the foundation.

Key factors to consider

Sufficient infrastructure and capacity:

• Proven expertise in the sector/field and high community reputation

• Strong data tracking and reporting processes

Supportive policy and regulatory environment: Presence of local foundations OR CSO has capacity to engage with international foundations, and has processes to accept and process funding from them

Where to begin

• What is the landscape of foundations in a country? Which of these foundations are aligned with the mission of a CSO?

• What are the requirements from the foundation to apply for funding?

Additional resources

• Candid Learning website: “How do I approach a foundation and build a successful grantee-funder relationship?” – provides suggestions for developing a relationship with a funder. https://learning.candid.org/resources/knowledge-base/approaching-foundations/

• Better Evaluation website – resource on evaluation and data measurement tools and best practices. https://www.betterevaluation.org/

• Better Evaluation website: Monitoring and Evaluation for Impact Investing ‒ introduces key characteristics for impact investing and outlines steps to consider when developing a monitoring and evaluation framework. https://www.betterevaluation.org/en/themes/monitoring-and- evaluation-impact-investing