Pay-What-It-Takes Principles in Action
In this section, we describe each Pay-What-It-Takes (PWIT) principle and highlight stories of funders who have shared their experiences with making grants more supportive of their nonprofit partners.[1] The funder list — which is in no way exhaustive — includes domestic philanthropy, corporate social responsibility organisations, and global philanthropy. Our hope is that the experiences funders shared with us will help to guide others who seek to start or enhance similar efforts.
Attitudes and behaviors that help funders adopt PWIT principles
- Shared values — around how to work with one another as well as how to approach social change — form the bedrock of strong fundernonprofit relationships.
- Purpose-driven partnerships between funders and nonprofits reflect a common vision for the change they’d like to see in the world and a strong, shared commitment to achieving it.
- Learning mindsets draw funders and nonprofit partners closer as they regularly seek feedback from one another and improve how they work together over time.
- Transparent and open communication goes beyond structured reporting to also include informal conversations, regular check-ins, and immersive field visits. Conversation spans both what’s working well and where there are challenges.
Pay-What-It-Takes Principles in Action
Pay-What-It-Takes Principles in Action
- Work with values-aligned partners.
- Commit to multiyear partnerships with grants renewed annually.
- Use pilot grants to explore long-term partnerships.
- Provide need-based coverage.
- Set a core cost range with flexibility provided on a case-by-case basis.
- Focus on the total cost to deliver a programme.
- Provide unrestricted/flexible funding.
- Make dedicated organisational development grants.
- Provide nonprofit partners with access to organisational development expertise.
- Fund initiatives that help nonprofits build their organisational capabilities.
- Provide grants for reserves.
- Make introductions to new funders.
- Bring an explicit DEI focus to grantmaking processes.
- Adopt a DEI framework to guide internal operations.
[1] Note that the funders pursued these actions while staying compliant with applicable government regulations.