Introducing CEP’s research on grantee experiences with intermediary funders, lead author Emily Yang notes “a significant rise in both the interest in and number of intermediary organizations.” Accompanying this rise in interest in funding through intermediaries – defined as entities that are regrantors of philanthropic dollars – is an increasing body of research. However, until CEP’s report, there was comparatively little insight into grantees’ experiences with intermediary funders.
Drawing on data from CEP’s Grantee Perception Report, Bridging the Gap: Grantee Perspectives on Intermediary Funders, shares insight into how grantees experience intermediary funders as compared to originating funders. The report also highlights two case studies of intermediary funders that are highly rated by grantees.
In the weeks following the release of the report, CEP invited those with various kinds of expertise or experience with intermediary funding to respond to the findings of the research and share their perspectives; those responses are collected here.
What Do Grantees Think of Intermediary Funders?
“In short, as with other funders, grantee experiences with intermediaries vary — and those experiences seem to depend on the actions and practices of their funder, rather than the funding organization’s form.”
Emily Yang, Senior Analyst, Research, CEP
Building the Intermediary Ecosystem: Three Core Tenets
“Forces external to philanthropy related to the speed, volatility, and intersectionality of social and environmental change will push the field further to accelerate investments in the intermediary ecosystem — we would be wise to heed the good counsel and insights from CEP’s study in an effort to prioritize improvements which center on grantees; that should always be the field’s North Star.“
Sampriti Ganguli, Senior Advisor, Arabella Advisors
Unlocking the Transformative Potential of Intermediary Funds
“Why we as funders continue to behave as if we can achieve long-term, systemic change on any issue by providing small, short-term, project grants that do not help the grantee organizations we rely on become stronger and more resilient remains a mystery to me.”
Hilary Pennington, Executive Vice President of Programs, Ford Foundation
The Power of Partnership: Insights from the CORE Collective Program
“For us, being an intermediary isn’t about simply passing along funding. Instead, we see our role as multifaceted, building upon monetary support with additional benefits and resources that help our partners grow, build capacity, and be increasingly influential in policymaking decisions at the state and local level.”
Lange Luntao, Director of Partnerships and Engagement and Esmeralda Marcial, Manager of Partnerships and Engagement, Ed-Trust West
How Collaboratives Can Advance Impact at Scale
“We believe collaboratives are an important tool to propel greater giving around the world and direct it to the causes and communities that need it most. And we are committed to supporting research into the effectiveness of such funds.”
Jennifer Stout, Deputy Director, Philanthropic Partnerships, Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Knowing What We Don’t Know: Assessing Intermediaries’ Impact on Grantees
“From where I sit within a donor collaborative that has raised close to $800 million from more than 50 funding partners, when we face limitations suggested by our originating funders, then we have to balance those limits with our own sense of what is needed to support the organizations receiving our grants.“
Pam Foster, Chief Operating Officer, Co-Impact
You Know What They Say About Assumptions: A Reflection on New Research About Intermediary Funders
“I think that what sometimes underlies the surprise that intermediaries aren’t more distinctive from originating funders is simply hope. It’s a hope that we just need to find the right new approach to philanthropy to make radically more progress. … But as a sector we really need to avoid the continual temptation to assume that we’ve found a transformative new philanthropic approach, or even that there is a single one out there to find.“
Kevin Bolduc, Vice President, Assessment and Advisory Services, CEP
Centering the Grantee Experience: A Path to Differentiation for Intermediary Funds
“The report’s findings resonated with my Bridgespan colleagues and me. At The Bridgespan Group, we’re excited about how much capital such collaboratives have unlocked and we are bullish — but not breathless — on the potential for this group’s ability to drive impact.”
Alison Powell, Partner, The Bridgespan Group
Putting Partnership and Community First: One Intermediary’s Approach
“We believe our role as funders is most successful when we collaborate with communities and grantees and leverage their expertise to reach meaningful impact. As with all funders, whether “originating” or “intermediary,” we must also continue learning, seeking out and listening to feedback, and looking to one another to continually improve practices and, thereby, better effect change.“
Ali Knight, CEO, GreenLight Fund
If Intermediaries Are to Be a Viable Tool for Equity, Then They Must Be Funded Accordingly
“However, when intermediaries and donor collaboratives find themselves in situations that the CEP report highlights — unsure of what their funding will look like from year to year — it undercuts arguably their greatest potential: resourcing transformational social change efforts.”
William Jackson, Founder and Chief Dreamer, Village of Wisdom
