This summer, the New York Times had a piece about how über-philanthropists Pierre Omidyar and Peter Lewis were keen on requiring leaders and other staff of organizations they fund to take management courses. As expected, there’s a wide range of ideas – if not controversy — about whether it is in the realm of a funder to get involved in the day-to-day management goings on at a grantee.
While many nonprofits (and, for that matter, for-profit businesses) would benefit from some management guidance, is it something that should be required for funding?
To gain some insight into both sides of this issue, I spoke with Alexandra Samuels of Pembroke Advisors. Samuels also has worked for the Delaware Valley (PA) Grantmakers; at Rohm and Haas as the Manager of Civic and Philanthropic Affairs; at The Philadelphia Foundation as the Director of Grantmaking Services; and is a former Chair of The Valentine Foundation. I also spoke with Jonathan Peiser, President/Principal of Internaut Consulting and former CIO/Program Director at the Open Society Institute. They suggest nonprofit leaders ask the following questions before getting agitated about a funder who thinks management needs some help:
1) Why was request made? What was the catalyst? Do they simply want the person/organization to up the game? Did a specific situation perpetuate this request, or is there a chronic limitation that could benefit from training?
2) Is there a training issue, or is it a resource issue? Hopefully, the funder is open to communication and lets the organization’s management identify needs as opposed to doing so for the organization. Perhaps additional funds should be set aside under a separate grant away from the program funding to support training or other operational issues that the funder would like to see improved.
3) What are the objectives? If the donor is interested in such training, surely an end goal and objective measures are outlined to determine the effect of such training.
Amidst the debate, one area where I believe management training and assistance can really help – and needs such funding — is in human resources. Succession planning and employee training are two areas often neglected that can be related to a lack of funds. It is true that many foundations and philanthropists complain about nonprofit organization management style while also having little-if-any interest in funding such mundane, day-to-day operations, but there are other donors who want to see that very funding happen as part of their gifts. In such cases, prior to accepting the funding, recipients need to understand if they feel like this is a negative, “strings attached” situation or if it is a positive directive able to fund and develop a recognized deficit. The perception of the gift matters and must be considered before accepting it.
What do you think? Have you ever had a funder put “strings” on a grant? How did you handle it and what advice can you share?
Carmel Napolitano is the Director of the New York Office of Development Resources, Inc‘s . With over 20 years of experience, Carmel started her career in higher education fundraising. She has an exceptional track record of placing senior staff at local, regional, national and global organizations. You can follow her on Twitter at NonProfitSearch, or email her at Napolitano@driconsulting.com .
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