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March 24, 2008, 04:29 PM ET
Why Foundations Should Give Support Over the Long Haul
Foundations often warn their grantees to find other sources of money so they will become “self-sustaining,” notes Caroline Heine on the PhilanthroMedia blog. But maybe more should consider supporting certain charities indefinitely, she writes.
“Many community foundations say they are ‘For good. Forever,’” writes Ms. Heine. “I met with a family foundation manager this week who said that his first duty was to remember that the foundation was ‘forever.’ If this is the case, then why the need to fund nonprofits like they are ‘yesterday?’”
As an example of a longterm relationship between a grant maker and a grantee, she points to the Humana Festival of New American Plays, which has been sponsored by the Humana Foundation for 29 years. “I’m sure there are many reasons why the Humana Foundation continues to fund the Festival, but to be certain, one of the main reasons is because the festival has always delivered superior results,” she writes. “The return on investment for the Humana Foundation is real and quantifiable. “
She notes the foundation’s own figures, which report that about 26,000 patrons “attend the five weeks of plays. Eight Humana plays have been adapted for film and television, with three — D. L. Coburn’s The Gin Game, Beth Henley’s Crimes of the Heart and Donald Margulies’ Dinner with Friends — winning Pulitzer Prizes. “It is estimated that 90 million people worldwide have seen productions of the many plays originated in the Humana Festival,” Ms. Heine writes.
“The relationship between the Humana Foundation and the Festival of New American Plays represents a symbiosis that should be studied and modeled by others,” she concludes. “If a nonprofit returns superior results, why not continue to fund it? “
Should foundations seek to forge more long-term relationships with their grantees? Click on the “comments” link below to share your thoughts.
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