HARVARD BUSINESS.ORG ON THE BOSTON FOUNDATION'S NEW STRATEGY
Yesterday the Boston Foundation unveiled major changes in its grantmaking strategy and announced that “the most dramatic change is a shift of emphasis to unrestricted operating support.” You’re not hallucinating, and it’s not a typo.
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Hallelujah. This is the nonprofit sector equivalent of the fall of the Berlin Wall. I remember when the Red Sox won the World Series in 2004. I didn’t cheer. I just kept saying over and over “The Red Sox just won the World Series” to convince myself that it was real. It was the same experience yesterday. I’m an optimist, but even I am so used to the hyper-incrementalism that defines the sector that I found myself in a state of disbelief.
The Foundation went ever further. They will start making larger grants, they are removing term limits so grants can be made over five years or longer, and they are removing deadlines so nonprofits can operate on their own timelines. The White House could learn a thing or two about hope and change from these people.
The announcement is striking and material on several levels.