We want to help build the framework for long-term prosperity for all.

GrantCraft, a service of Foundation Center, looks at why and how funders are engaging in participatory grantmaking and shifting decision-making power to the very communities impacted by funding decisions. Through examples and insights from a diverse range of participatory grantmakers, explore the benefits, challenges, and models of participatory grantmaking.

Many grantmakers now prefer that applications for funding support be submitted in a letter of intent or inquiry (LOI) format instead of as a full proposal. This document from Foundant helps potential funders decide if they are interested enough in the project to ask for a formal grant proposal. Learn the best practices for your LOI to give it the best chance of getting to the gatekeeper—the grants administration—and on to the board for review.

Created by the Center for Effective Philanthropy, this document looks at why the funder–grantee relationship is both notoriously fraught and widely seen as crucial. It is crucial because funders and grantees must work together to achieve shared goals. Yet, even as they are recognized as vital, funder–grantee relationships are fraught because of a range of dynamics, including the inevitable power imbalance between those who have resources and those who need them.

The Trust-Based Philanthropy Project is a five-year, peer-to-peer funder initiative to address the inherent power imbalances between foundations and nonprofits. Understanding that these power imbalances are an expression of the social, political, and economic inequalities that many of their nonprofit partners are working to resolve, they interrogate and reimagine relationship. Their goal is to envision a world where relationships are built on vulnerability, transparency, and humility; where community and nonprofit leaders are valued, supported, and trusted; and where funders bring an awareness of power and equity to their grantmaking.

Are you ready to overcome built-in systemic injustices to catalyze transformational lasting change in our communities? The new Grantmaking with a Racial Justice Lens: A Practical Guide from racialequity.org provides grantmakers with reflections, frameworks and tools built from the direct experience of activists and funders for advancing racial justice in any philanthropic setting.

The cause of Georgia Center for Nonprofits is simple: to create thriving communities by helping nonprofits succeed. They remove barriers that thwart purpose driven people from transforming intent to impact; provide transformative opportunities that create informed and prepared leaders; convene diverse problem solvers to spark shared understanding and inclusive solutions for real-world challenges; and champion support for the sector’s work.

Pro Bono Partnership of Atlanta strengthens our community by engaging volunteer attorneys to provide nonprofits with business legal services. They unlock the power of pro bono services, enabling nonprofits to thrive and transactional attorneys to have meaningful pro bono experiences. They match eligible organizations with volunteer attorneys from the leading corporations and law firms in Atlanta. The staff screens the nonprofits and identifies their legal needs, then matches eligible clients with attorneys who have the appropriate expertise.

For a combined 88 years, Foundation Center and GuideStar each helped change the world by giving people the information they needed to do good. But the world faces growing challenges: polarization, climate change, technological revolution, and poverty and inequality. That’s why they combined their talent, technology, data, and leadership to become a new organization called Candid. Now, it’s easier than ever to get the information you need to create change.

This document allows Cousins Foundations grant applicants to provide details about their organizational objectives and capacity, community-based focus areas for their work, expected impact and outcomes, and details about their funding needs. This initial document helps start the dialogue and opens the grant application process.

This brief interview is designed to offer Cousins Foundations grantees an opportunity to provide feedback on their experience as a grant recipient. It is an opportunity to assess goals and outcomes, identify benefits of the grant award, and offer suggestions and reflections on the grantmaking process.

CF Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization. The 990 Form is the annual reporting tax return document required to be filed by all federally tax-exempt organizations. View Form 990 on Guidestar.

Cousins Foundation is a 501(c)(3) organization. The 990 Form is the annual reporting tax return document required to be filed by all federally tax-exempt organizations. View Form 990 on Guidestar.