WHY GRANTMAKERS PRIORITIZE CO

An increasing and significant number of grantmakers fund CO groups, with a growing number making CO a priority in their grantmaking.51 In a 1999 survey, 88 of NFG's 200 member organizations said they funded CO. They include small local funders as well as five of the 15 largest foundations in the country; community foundations, family foundations, public foundations, church giving programs and corporate funders; foundations funding primarily in urban areas, and others with significant rural portfolios. NFG members can find out more about these grantmakers, their funding and the names of program officers interested in serving as resource persons on CO grantmaking by going to the NFG Web site at www.nfg.org and clicking on "Member Directory." Nonmembers can email the NFG office at nfg@nfg.org.

Funders investing in CO are influenced or directed in their choice of what to fund by factors unique to their institutions, such as:

• Their varying missions, history and leadership;
• Amount of money at their disposal;
• Differing contexts for their grantmaking;
• Their views about societal issues and what they can do to address them; and
• Their sense of CO's importance and potential.
  

Following is a summary of key reasons that funders are investing in CO.

CO is the baseline strategy for effective community revitalization. Some grantmakers start with the premise that CO is fundamental to revitalizing communities. Their "theory of change" says that no disadvantaged "community" can reach its potential unless its residents or constituents are fully engaged in determining what should be happening, and in leading the necessary change-oriented work to get it done - in short, the people need to be organized, skilled and powerful. In their view, effective CO transforms residents of distressed neighborhoods, empowering them to win concrete improvements in key areas like housing, education, jobs and the environment.

CO can help find solutions to the critical issues of poverty and race. Some funders see CO's value in addressing issues of race and poverty. They generally believe in the principle that "those who suffer the problems have the most to offer to its solutions." They see and appreciate CO's work in poor communities - often communities of color, where people of differing races and cultures are brought together in CO organizations for common struggle. Through CO, people learn and grow together and take leadership in making their communities whole. CO has fashioned numerous multi-racial efforts among poor people that have improved public policies benefiting the poor, eased racial tensions, and provided purpose and hope for previously unorganized communities.

CO can affect change by building the capacity of people and groups working at the grassroots level. More and more funders are working with CO groups to build community capacities and to develop, recast or strengthen their grantmaking programs. The strategies of funders investing in CO for the long term generally include grants to CO networks or intermediaries to assist their grassroots grantees with organizational, leadership and constituency development processes.

CO can revitalize our democracy. A number of funders find CO a valuable strategy in seeking to help "repair the torn fabric" of our democracy. CO reflects and practices democracy - in its principles, in the way CO organizations are structured and operate and in its continuing efforts to foster informed dialogue and build common, participatory efforts in their communities and among their constituents.

CO groups are often funded under categories called "civic participation" or "governance." Some grantmakers meet their objectives for strengthening democracy by funding CO groups' environmental justice or jobs efforts, or by supporting CO's leadership development strategies.

CO gets the best mileage for grant investments. Small funders especially realize that, because of size limitations, their dollars can do only so much. They often look for catalytic effects from their grantmaking - resources attracted from other sources, partnerships formed, leadership developed that can take on important challenges independent of the funders' support, recognition from the broader public of the importance of the funded efforts, and so on. These funders appreciate how CO groups inspire and rely on an unusually committed brand of volunteerism to get results, how far they stretch their dollars and how dedicated are their staffs. These funders distinguish CO groups from other types of community efforts that deliver a service but do not work for change.

CO is a long-term strategy that makes a significant difference. Many funders are determined to support CO through thick and thin. They are convinced that the resolution of social problems requires years of sustained efforts to build the necessary community capacities and power to address them. They believe CO is the antidote for "quick-fix" projects or initiatives that do little good.

The Wieboldt Foundation has been a CO funder for more than two decades. Only a few funders have supported CO for as long a period. Wieboldt's leaders believe its CO grantmaking makes a vital and unique long-term contribution to change. Their view was strongly validated in a detailed review of the first ten years of its grantmaking.