One Funder’s Typology
“In my mind,” writes a grantmaker who has worked extensively with business, “foundations engage business in the following ways”:
- Double indirect advocacy: a foundation > funds a nonprofit > to inform government policy > that regulates or shapes business
- Indirect advocacy: a foundation > funds a nonprofit > to advocate to business that it change its practice.
- Indirect engagement: a foundation > funds a nonprofit > to engage business in a project.
- Direct relationship: a foundation > works directly with business—for example, through joint funding for a project.
- Direct funding: a foundation > funds certain social elements of business—a “rare but sometimes helpful approach.
The typology, he explains, puts him in a position to ask “a bunch of questions,” such as:
- Which approach is my foundation in the best position to pursue?
- What prerequisites should I look for in business partners?
- What public message will my foundation communicate with each of these alternatives?
- Which approach is likely to achieve results more quickly?
- Which approach is likely to lead to sustainable change and impact?
Takeaways are critical, bite-sized resources either excerpted from our guides or written by Candid Learning for Funders using the guide's research data or themes post-publication. Attribution is given if the takeaway is a quotation.
This takeaway was derived from Working with the Business Sector.
