Economic Downturn Impact

The recent economic downturn, for example, has severely diminished the financial resources of philanthropic institutions and the nonprofits they support. One funder recalled that “we used to hear a lot of funders saying things like ‘We can do everything on our own. We don’t collaborate. We rely on ourselves and our own strategies and own funding.’ Now, with less money, they’re saying ‘I’d like to meet with other people who have like-minded funding interests or who care about this issue because maybe we can pool resources or knowledge.’” Some funders believe that the economic downturn is prompting hard but helpful questions about whether foundations are doing enough to collaborate at a time when they’re asking nonprofits to do likewise. “Funders are asking nonprofits to do so much more in hard times — like merge or even go out of business. But how many foundations are doing the same? It’s the credibility issue; you know, we need to walk our talk,” one foundation president observed.