The Insider's Guide to Grantmaking: How Foundations Find, Fund, and Manage Effective Programs

Using Policy to Leverage Impact

One of the primary uses of policy in the foundation world is to extend the impact of funded projects. Willie Sutton robbed banks because “that is where the money is”; likewise, one of the most compelling reasons for foundations to become involved in policy is for the cash needed to bring projects to scale. Despite much talk over the past decades of government cutbacks, federal and state government resources continue to overshadow those of the nonprofit sector. The combined payout of the five largest private foundations in 1998 would have been insufficient to pay for one B-2 bomber—and the Department of Defense during that year was engaged in building twenty B-2 bombers. Securing a stream of governmental support ...