How Foundations Work: What Grantseekers Need to Know About the Many Faces of Foundations

Grantseekers spend much of their time and energy preparing grant requests. But do they really know enough about the foundations they are approaching to succeed in getting grants? Foundations are some of the nation?s most misunderstood and mysterious organizations. Dennis P. McIlnay offers a unique and remarkable look inside foundations, exploring the complex workings of the organizations that so often determine the success or failure of a nonprofit?s fundraising ventures.

Using case histories of grantseekers and insights from foundations themselves, Dennis P. McIlnay reveals the underlying principles and philosophies that guide grantmaking. He gives the grantseeker an edge in the highly competitive world of foundation grants by both debunking many of the myths and misconceptions surrounding foundations and including more productive strategies for dealing with them.

The book is structured around six perceptions of foundations?judges, editors, citizens, activists, entrepreneurs, and partners?and reveals the complex and often contradictory nature of foundations. How Foundations Work suggests that foundations have unique organizational personalities with unique values, languages, cultures, rituals, and behaviors that distinguish them from other organizations. Understanding these personalities is the key to grantseekers? success.

Accessible and intriguing, this book provides a thorough understanding of what makes foundations tick and how this affects their interactions with nonprofits. Managers and fund raisers in nonprofits will also find a comprehensive bibliography that provides additional resources.

Preface and Acknowledgements.

The Author.

Foundations at the Crossroads.

Foundations as Judges –
The Art of Deciding Who Gets a Grant.

Foundations as Editors –
How the Quality of Writing Affects Grant Proposals.

Foundations as Citizens –
How Accessible and Accountable are Foundations?

Foundations as Acitvists –
How Political Ideology and Influence Affect Grant Decisions.

Foundations as Entrepreneurs –
How Program Officers View Risk Taking.

Foundations as Partners –
Problems in Building Trust Between Grantmakers and Grantseekers.

Conclusion –
Faces of Foundations in the Future.

DENNIS P. MCILNAY is professor of management at Saint Francis College in Loretto, Pennsylvania. His publications include Foundation and Higher Education: Dollars, Donors, and Scholars(1991) and articles on foundations in Nonprofit and Voluntary Section Quarterly, Foundation News and Commentary, Philanthropy Matters, and Currents. He is also a member of the editorial board of Foundation News and Commentary.

"How Foundations Work will provide much–needed dialogue in the foundation community. Anyone who has ever raised funds from foundations can easily relate to Mr. McIlnay′s observations. This book gives an insider′s perspective to foundations that we have heard about before but rarely seen in print until today." (K. Scott Sheldon, CFRE, director of development and outreach, Arizona State University College of ExtAnded Education)

"McIlnay′s book is full of information. His arguments are cogent and well–supported. Common misunderstandings and unspoken truths about foundations are revealed in ways that nonprofit leaders will respond to with warmth. The list of cockamamie ideas submitted as grant proposals brought tears of laughter to my eyes and the description of medieval grant proposals is priceless. It is funny, well–observed and a good read." (David La Piana, principal, La Piana Associates Management Consultants)

"After a dozen years in the field, I was pleased to read this book which helps to demystify philanthropy" (Ruth Shack, president, Dade Commununity Foundation)