Half of Small Grant Makers Are Giving More

Half of small foundations have increased their grant making in response to the Covid-19 pandemic, according to a survey.

Seventy-nine percent said they had changed their funding in some way because of the crisis, according to an April survey of nearly 1,000 small foundations conducted by Exponent Philanthropy, a membership organization.

The results, which Exponent said were preliminary, come amid calls for foundations to increase their grant budgets even if it means dipping into endowments that have shrunk because of market declines.

The pandemic prompted nearly half of small grant makers to start supporting groups they hadn’t funded before and spurred two nearly two-thirds to make their grant guidelines more flexible, such as allowing project grants to be used for general operating expenses

The change among smaller grant makers comes as more than 700 foundation nationally pledged to allow grantees to use money earmarked for a specific purpose for operational support. Another component of the pledge, to delay grantee reporting deadlines, was taken up by about 56 percent of smaller grant makers, according to the Exponent survey.

The survey also found:

• Nearly one-third of foundations had switched from issuing paper checks to making grants using a wire transfer.
• More than half had postponed or suspended site visits with grantees.
• More than two-thirds were conducting board meetings using a digital platform.
• More than half of the response money will go to individuals hurt economically by the crisis.