Over 71% of funders have set criteria to support philanthropy: AIP survey

Over 71 per cent of the funders have a defined grant-making thesis to support their philanthropic work with capacity building as the most popular kind of support provided by them, according to a survey by Accelerate Indian Philanthropy (AIP).

Most funders consider a range of factors to assess how well an organization or project will fit with their objectives and priorities, and some of the parameters for assessment include leadership and governance, track record and impact, strategy and vision alignment.

The survey highlighted that 62 per cent of respondents found leadership and governance, and track record and impact of a potential partner as key factors in their assessment metrics.

Further, sustainability and scale is important for 16 per cent of respondents, while strategy and vision alignment is largely relevant to 15 per cent, it added.

The survey provides decision-making frameworks for funders to facilitate informed, effective grant-making. It engaged with over 20 philanthropic entities across categories including international foundations, domestic foundations, family foundations, and collectives, to understand their grant-making lifecycle and approach to grant-making for the survey.

Noted industry names such as Azim Premji Foundation, Michael & Susan Dell Foundation, ACT, Rohini Nilekani Philanthropy, and Rainmatter Foundation participated in the survey.

Post-grant qualitative support by grant makers can take different forms such as capacity building, storytelling and communications, advisory and strategy support, fundraising, and partnerships.

The survey found that capacity building is the most popular kind of support provided by funders, followed by fundraising and communications support.

"Over 71 per cent of funders had a defined grant-making thesis. Having even a skeletal framework in place allows funders to give better and more as it enables them to focus their philanthropic efforts on what is most important to them, it added.

Radhika Jain, Director, AIP said while philanthropic approaches vary based on individual motivations, passions, and bandwidth, grant-making is often a starting point for many as they embark on their giving journey.

"Through this report, we hope to encourage funders to think about grant-making in an informed, structured manner, supporting non-profits to reach their true potential, as they come closer to their goal of bringing sustainable, inclusive economic growth," she added.