More than Money: Making a Difference with Assistance Beyond the Grant

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Title: More than Money: Making a Difference with Assistance Beyond the Grant Author: Ellie Buteau, PhD; Phil Buchanan; Cassie Bolanos; Andrea Brock; Kelly Chang; foundation case studies by Judith A. Ross Type: Position paper and case studies Focus: Grantmaking, pro bono assistance, non-financial support Date: December 2008 Publisher: Center for Effective Philanthropy (USA) Download: Download in PDF format (free) or order hard copy from Effective Philanthropy

This report by the US-based Center for Effective Philanthropy looks at assistance provided to grant recipients "above the grant", including planning or management advice, training, communications and marketing assistance and other non-financial help. The report argues that the majority of this assistance has little impact on the recipient organisations, particularly when the recipient receives only two or three types of assistance.

One of the report's key findings is that the most useful assistance to grantees falls into one of two categories:

• Providing a comprehensive set of assistance activities (more than eight or nine forms of assistance)
• Providing a set of mainly field-focused initiatives (four or five forms of assistance, most of which are focused on increasing the grantee's knowledge about their field and supporting relationships to others in that field)

The report also finds that providing assistance beyond the grant in a way that will make a meaningful difference requires a significant investment on the part of the foundation. It profiles three US foundations and the assistance they provide for grantees beyond the grant.

Download in PDF format (free) or order hard copy from Effective Philanthropy