What Works (and What Doesn’t) in Nonprofit Capital Grantmaking

This past summer,  hosted five Morehead-Cain Scholars here in Baltimore for an eight-week study on capital grantmaking — the kind of philanthropy that funds construction, renovation, and equipment purchases for nonprofits. Our project began with a simple request from a mentor: “Tell me everything you know about capital grantmaking.”

I sat down and drafted a quick two-page memo, eager to supplement it with external resources. To my surprise, I couldn’t find much. Curious, I reached out to philanthropy colleagues across Baltimore to learn about their own approaches and tools for capital grantmaking.

Those conversations confirmed what I suspected: There are very few resources available, especially for a funding strategy that is often considered a foundational pillar of philanthropic giving. Moreover, it’s difficult to find research on how nonprofits are currently managing capital projects and what donors should consider on capital grantmaking during these times.

After years of federal and state stimulus, capital projects are adapting in a volatile environment defined by shrinking funding streams, inflation, construction delays, and a shrinking labor force. Nonprofits are still building — but often under extraordinary strain. What do funders need to know?

Drawing from my 25 years in the nonprofit sector, five years focused specifically on capital projects, and this summer’s research, I’ve distilled a few lessons worth sharing — about what makes these projects succeed, where they most often stumble, and how both funders and nonprofits can approach them more effectively.

Click here to read the full op-ed.

Source: NextCity, written by MPN member, Havaca Ganguly, Executive Director of the Middendorf Foundation