‘Fund nonprofits to win.’ The bold objective of Walter & Elise Haas Fund’s grantmaking redesign.
In 2023, the Fund announced three shifts taking place in its grantmaking practice:
- From silos to integration. Moving from separate economic security, education and safety net programs, it created one Economic Well-being portfolio focused on improving community well-being.
- From symptoms to systems. Rather than treating only the effects of poverty, it now funds organizations working inside the systems that produce cycles of poverty.
- From contributions to commitments. Shifting to long-term partnerships with nonprofits, which includes larger, longer general operating grants and shared responsibility.
‘Fund nonprofits to win’ came out of 18 months of self-examination that led to these shifts.
During that time, the Endeavor Fund was created, a living example of how the Fund was reimagining effective grantmaking.
Seven nonprofits each received grants of $3.5 million over seven years, $24.5 million in total, to close the racial and gender wealth gap. The grantees decided what programs to deepen, how to influence systems, and how to invest in their own capacity, including staff pay and BIPOC leadership development.
Then came a phased redesign process through 2024:
- A review of 20 years of grantmaking, covering 349 grantees and $70M. A key finding was that the Fund was often first to back ideas that others later followed.
- Taking the findings of the review to trustees and sketching an early idea of community well-being.
- Listening—interviews and focus groups with over 50 people, including a group of young people aged 18 to 24.
- Design based on what the Fund heard through this process.
The Fund has since published Nonprofits Don’t Win Alone, a three-year learning report. Its core finding is that when funders listen, stay flexible and respect nonprofits’ agency, grantees do better work.
Learn more about the Walter & Elise Haas Fund’s renewed grantmaking philosophy and the redesign process.
