Media Contact: Chloe Heskett, Senior Editor, Writer, and Content Strategist, Center for Effective Philanthropy| 617-395-4092 | chloeh@cep.org
Cambridge, MA — A new report from the Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) reveals that grantee experiences with intermediary funders do not differ greatly from those with “originating” funders.
Intermediaries, a term which refers to many kinds of entities that are regrantors of philanthropic dollars, have been the subject of increased support and attention in recent years. Many in philanthropy assert that intermediaries are better able to achieve goals related to impact, build relationships with nonprofit grantees, and progress on issues related to equity.
However, according to CEP’s report — the largest study of grantee experiences with intermediary organizations to date — grantees of intermediaries are not having notably more positive or more negative experiences than grantees of other funders.
The report finds that, just as with “originating” funders, there is significant variation in the organizational characteristics and grantee experiences of intermediaries, suggesting that it is not the form of the organization but the practices and approach of the funder that makes a difference in grantee experience and their perception of a funder’s impact on grantees’ organizations and fields.
“Intermediaries are not necessarily a silver bullet for philanthropy,” said Elisha Smith Arrillaga, Ph.D., vice president of Research at CEP “It’s important to be deliberate when choosing an intermediary and to ask the right questions to determine value alignment with communities.”
While overall grantee experiences were not substantially more positive or negative with intermediary organizations than with originating funders, grantees did report that intermediaries demonstrated a slightly better understanding of their fields and that they perceived them as providing slightly more open and frequent communication.
On the other hand, grantees rated their intermediary funders slightly lower on measures of trust and understanding of their work when compared with originating funders. Grantees of intermediary funders also report receiving grants that are somewhat smaller and less likely to be multiyear or unrestricted than those they receive from originating funders.
“There is no doubt that major donors and grantmaking institutions are increasingly using intermediaries to pursue their goals, and some clearly excel in ways that are consistent with the aims of the originating donors,” noted Phil Buchanan, president of CEP. “But our research suggests a similar range of performance – in terms at least of the grantee experience – as more traditional grantmakers and, therefore, a need for sobriety about the reality that there are no easy answers in philanthropy.”
Find Bridging the Gap: Grantee Perspectives on Intermediary Funders at cep.org.
About CEP
The Center for Effective Philanthropy (CEP) is a nonprofit organization with a mission to provide data, feedback, programs, and insights to help individual and institutional donors improve their effectiveness. We do this work because we believe effective donors, working collaboratively and thoughtfully, can profoundly contribute to creating a better and more just world. For more information on CEP’s work, including its research, assessments, advisory services, and programming, visit www.cep.org.
