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"We've received 9,000 applications and made 235 grants! We received 600 applications and made 111 grants! We received 4000 applications and made 40 grants!" If this is how you're doling "relief" you're perpetuating structural inequality. Let's do better than competing for scraps.
If these philanthropic organizations could *take a beat*, stop, collaborate and listen, and then solve for the systemic failures, we might actually get somewhere. I'm watching well intentioned efforts set money on fire while self-congratulating for how in demand the relief was.
This approach is UTTERLY 
to me. A competitive, "the best idea wins," which actually means, "the status quo doing it the longest" mentality is what got us in this mess in the first place.
to me. A competitive, "the best idea wins," which actually means, "the status quo doing it the longest" mentality is what got us in this mess in the first place.
Here are 3 ideas that are better uses of money:
1. Take your 600 grant applications. Bucket into 12 categories (by sector, ppl served, whatev). Give each sector $1M & say, "We'll help you figure out how to collaborate and consolidate." Now you have some type of efficiency.
1. Take your 600 grant applications. Bucket into 12 categories (by sector, ppl served, whatev). Give each sector $1M & say, "We'll help you figure out how to collaborate and consolidate." Now you have some type of efficiency.
2. Hire a lobbyist to advocate for a sector's specific needs. Economic development for underrepresented small business owners is the most obvious play. Willing to bet that $100K in strategic advocacy can result in $10M+ of funding.
3. Fund the legal fees associated with non-profit organizational mergers and acquisitions. Chances are there are 10 orgs that, tomorrow, could merge and be 100x more powerful. But #philanthropy rarely funds the $25K in legal fees to make this possible. Why not ask?
If you are a funder I am happy to walk through any of these new strategies (and many others!). It's okay if you aren't hip to them. They are kind of...nuanced. There is so much opportunity to stop playing this game and think more creatively and structurally.
The numbers I used above are real numbers from real programs I've seen, touted by organizations with teams I respect. But how on EARTH they landed on this messaging rather than to say, "Hold up. We need a longer term, collaborative solution WITH grantees" is beyond me.
To be more precise with my suggestion: this dynamic is simple supply and demand. What I'm asking #philanthropy #government to do is focus on the structural availability and creation of resources (time, talent, treasure are almost infinite and renewable) rather than the demand.
