What do funders need to hear and how can we fund more effectively?

1. What do funders need to hear
and
how can we fund more effectively?
Workshop 3 of the Waikato Philanthropy Series
by Peter Glensor, General Manager, Kaiwhakahaere Matua, Hui E!
and
Kate Frykberg, Independent Philanthropy & Community Advisor, Chair of Philanthropy NZ
22 October 2015

2. 1. Understanding our communities
2. Selecting and structuring funding
3. Understanding impact
4. Building real relationships:
• with grantees
• as Waikato funders
What will we cover
2

3. • Work with us about areas you don’t understand. Do you
trust us? Or are we out for money? Bad examples:
• new Trust in town!
• starting own organisation (Good example – HVDHB)
• Join with us to try and join the dots – we can offer our
experience
• Seek our input on big strategy or policy decisions
1. Understanding our communities: what do funders need to hear?
3

4. • Get out into our communities
• Take a tour of communities you don’t often go to
• Attend community events and go to community sector conferences and hui
• Visit grantees and applicants
• Bring communities into our funding organisations
• Staff and trustees should reflect the community we serve – and Māori representation is particularly important
• Involve grantees (and communities) in strategic planning
• Experiment with youth panels, advisory groups and other inclusive decision making
• Ask, read, learn and share
• Vital Signs research is a an exciting new initiative – well done Waikato funders!
• GEO’s publication “Widespread Empathy” is very helpful
• Create KPIs for reading relevant research, attending events, being out and about
1. Understanding our communities: possibilities to explore
4

5. 1. Understanding our communities: why it matters
5
Can’t write
good proposals
but great at
meeting
community
needs
Great at both
Not good at
either
Write good
proposals but
not so good at
meeting
community
needs
Relying on written proposals alone doesn’t always work…

6. • Please give us feedback through the process – saves time
and effort!
• If we ask, will you tell us why you decided in the way you
did?
• Is the work we do in applying & reporting proportionate to
the amount of money?
• Session #2 questions – flexibility Vs strategy, balance
sheets, conflicts of interest
2. Selecting and structuring funding: what do funders need to hear?
6

7. • Research tells us that for grants to maximise community impact we need:
• Fewer restrictions on how funding is used
• More multi-year funding
• Better relationships with grantees
• Giving feedback:
• Don’t be afraid to gently put people off, eg “this sounds like a real longshot to me”
• Call in person to give bad news if possible
• Give honest and tactful feedback – but one size does not fit all
• Have a clear strategy and criteria – but with some flexibility
• Look for sustainable finances – but this is only one selection criteria
• Great to have staff and trustees with community connections – but always declare
2. Selecting and structuring funding: possibilities to explore
7

8. • Think about the funding burden we impose! Some definitions:
• Funding Burden = Time and costs spent applying for and reporting on grants
• Net Grant = the real value of a grant after funding burden is taken into account
• Net Funding = the real value of our total funding after the burden for all applicants is taken into account
• Ideas for lightening the funding burden
• Measure how long to apply and report
• Stage the burden – use 2-step process
• Share the burden – we can do the leg work too!
• Proportionality matters – vary the burden depending on what’s on offer
• Combine responsive and proactive funding
• Multi-year funding is better for everyone
• Re-use or standardise reporting and evaluations with other funders
2. Selecting and structuring funding: proportionate selection processes
8

9. • Do you give us the chance to give our assessment of impact
– or just report on how the $$$ were spent?
• How can we work together to look at big picture/ longer term
impact of the philanthropic spend – from a common base as
one sector?
3. Understanding Impact: what do funders need to hear?
9

10. • Most accountability and impact reporting doesn’t work well for anyone
• It’s time for conversations between funders and community organisations about:
• What is really required in accountability reporting?
• What do we really want to know about impact?
• How can we encourage honesty when funding decisions are made on the basis of impact reporting?
• Are the ways of doing this that work better than reports that sit on shelves?
• How do we work and learn together?
• Perhaps this can start in the Waikato?
3. Understanding Impact: possibilities to explore
10

11. Three groups, choose one of:
1. Understanding our communities
2. Selecting and structuring funding
3. Understanding impact
Explore:
1. What are we doing now which seems to work well?
2. How could we do differently?
3. What could be shared?
Funder conversations:
11

12. • Mutual trust & respect essential – each to understand role &
limitations of the other
4. Building real relationships: what do funders need to hear?
12

13. • Building funder granter relationships
• See ourselves as pat of the community sector
• Learn from our applicants and grantees
• Provide long term, unrestricted, high-trust funding when appropriate
• Explore Collective Impact
• Building funder relationships in the Waikato
• Shared learning spaces
• Collaborative funding initiatives
• Shared application forms (just for first step of two step funding maybe)
• Shared reporting and evaluations
• Secondments
4. Building real relationships: possibilities to explore
13

14. In groups, explore:
1. Grantee Relationships
a) What are we doing now which seems to work well?
b) How could we do things differently?
2. Waikato Funder relationships:
a) Are there opportunities to learn more together?
b) Are there opportunities to work more together?
Funder conversations:
14

15. • Thank you for the opportunity to be part of these workshops
• Are there things that can be taken forward in your
organisations or as a wider group?
Final Thoughts
15

16. What do funders need to hear
and
how can we fund more effectively?
Workshop 3 of the Waikato Philanthropy Series
by Peter Glensor, General Manager, Kaiwhakahaere Matua, Hui E!
and
Kate Frykberg, Independent Philanthropy & Community Advisor, Chair of Philanthropy NZ
22 October 2015